University of Wisconsin–Madison

Category: Politics within the judicial system

Vondoepp, Ellett (2011), “Reworking Strategic Models of Executive-Judicial Relations: Insights from New African Democracies.”

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Peter Vondoepp, Rachel Ellett, “Reworking Strategic Models of Executive-Judicial Relations: Insights from New African Democracies.” Comparative Politics, vol. 43, no. 2 (2011): 147-165. Summary: In emerging African democracies, why do judiciaries experience high levels of government interference in some contexts and not in others? Original research conducted in five commonwealth African countries reveals that conventional strategic …

Enayat (2013), “Law, State, and Society in Modern Iran: Constitutionalism, Autocracy, and Legal Reform, 1906-1941.”

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Hadi Enayat, Law, State, and Society in Modern Iran : Constitutionalism, Autocracy, and Legal Reform, 1906-1941. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 1st ed. 2013. Summary: Using a ‘Historical Institutionalist’ approach, this book sheds light on a relatively understudied dimension of state-building in early twentieth century Iran, namely the quest for judicial reform and the rule of law …

Chua, Haynie (2016), “Judicial Review of Executive Power in the Singaporean Context, 1965–2012.”

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Lynette J. Chua, Stacia L. Haynie, “Judicial Review of Executive Power in the Singaporean Context, 1965–2012.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 4, no. 1 (2016): 43–64.  Summary: This article provides the first empirical analysis of court decisions that review the exercise of executive power, or judicial review, in Singapore, a single-party-dominated state known for its …

Melton, Ginsburg (2014), “Does De Jure Judicial Independence Really Matter?: A Reevaluation of Explanations for Judicial Independence.”

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James Melton, Tom Ginsburg, “Does De Jure Judicial Independence Really Matter?: A Reevaluation of Explanations for Judicial Independence.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 2, no. 2 (2014): 187–217. Summary: The relationship between de jure and de facto judicial independence is much debated in the literature on judicial politics. Some studies find no relationship between the …

Epperly (2013), “The Provision of Insurance?: Judicial Independence and the Post-Tenure Fate of Leaders.”

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Brad Epperly, “The Provision of Insurance?: Judicial Independence and the Post-Tenure Fate of Leaders.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 1, no. 2 (2013): 247–78.  Summary: Leading explanations of judicial independence argue political competition incentivizes those in power to create independent courts as insurance against uncertain futures. While much work addresses the role competition plays, …

Khalil (2024), ” ‘This Country has Laws’: Legalism as a Tool of Entrenching Autocracy in Egypt.”

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Heba M. Khalil, “ ‘This Country has Laws’ ”: Legalism as a Tool of Entrenching Autocracy in Egypt.” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 68, no. 12 (2024): 1597-1615.  Summary: This article investigates the role of legalism and legal processes in entrenching autocratic rule in post-revolution Egypt. In the aftermath of the spectacular street protests that swept Egypt, …

Staton, Reenock, Holsinger (2022), “Can Courts be Bulwarks of Democracy?: Judges and the Politics of Prudence.”

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Jeffrey K. Staton, Christopher Reenock, and Jordan Holsinger, Can Courts be Bulwarks of Democracy?: Judges and the Politics of Prudence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. Summary: Liberal concepts of democracy envision courts as key institutions for the promotion and protection of democratic regimes. Yet social science scholarship suggests that courts are fundamentally constrained in ways that …

Ríos-Figueroa, Shen-Bayh (2025), “Courts in the Global South.”

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Julio Ríos-Figueroa and Fiona Shen-Bayh, “Courts in the Global South.” Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 28, no. 1 (2025): 151-171. Summary: Research on judicial politics has advanced considerably over the past few decades, particularly in the global South, a geopolitical region that has long been subjected to imbalanced relationships with more industrialized countries in …

Couso (2025), “Judicial Murder in Chile: Patterns, Cases, and Doctrines for Prosecuting Jurists.”

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Jaime Couso. “Judicial Murder in Chile: Patterns, Cases, and Doctrines for Prosecuting Jurists,” in Transitional Justice and the Criminal Responsibility of Judges. Edited by Claudia Cárdenas Aravena, Jaime Couso Salas, Florian Jeßberger, Milan Kuhli, pp. 61-73. London: Routledge, 2025. Summary: This chapter examines the feasibility of grounding attribution of criminal responsibility to judges for judicial behavior …

Gallagher (2017), “Authoritarian Legality in China.”

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Mary E Gallagher. Authoritarian Legality in China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Summary: Can authoritarian regimes use democratic institutions to strengthen and solidify their rule? The Chinese government has legislated some of the most protective workplace laws in the world and opened up the judicial system to adjudicate workplace conflict, emboldening China’s workers to use these …