University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tag: Argentina

Helmke (2004). “Courts under constraints: judges, generals, and presidents in Argentina”.

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Helmke, G. (2004). Courts under constraints: judges, generals, and presidents in Argentina. Cambridge University Press. This study offers a theoretical framework for understanding how institutional instability affects judicial behavior under dictatorship and democracy. In stark contrast to conventional wisdom, the central findings of the book contradict some assumptions that only independent judges rule against the government …

Castagnola (2017). Manipulating courts in new democracies: forcing judges off the bench in Argentina.

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Castagnola, A. (2017). Manipulating courts in new democracies: forcing judges off the bench in Argentina. Routledge. When can the Executive manipulate the composition of a Court? What political factors explain judicial instability on the bench? Using original field data from Argentina’s National Supreme Court and all twenty-four Provincial Supreme Courts, Andrea Castagnola develops a novel theory …

Garcia Holgado & Sánchez Urribarri (2023), “Court-packing and democratic decay: A necessary relationship?”

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Garcia Holgado, Benjamin & Sánchez Urribarri, Raúl. Court-packing and democratic decay: A necessary relationship? Global Constitutionalism 12(2): 350–377 (2023). This article challenges the common assumption that court-packing and democratic erosion are inherently linked. Drawing on rich case studies of Argentina under Carlos Menem (1989–1999) and Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro (1999–present), the authors …

Gamboa et al. (2024), “Courts against backsliding: Lessons from Latin America”

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Gamboa, Laura; García-Holgado, Benjamín; & González-Ocantos, Ezequiel. Courts against backsliding: Lessons from Latin America. Law & Policy 46(4): 358–379 (2024). Across Latin America’s recent wave of democratic erosion, courts have often been portrayed as victims of executive encroachment or as instruments weaponized by autocrats. This article develops a different analytical frame by highlighting cases in …

Palermo (2025), “Dictatorship and Judicial Complicity: The Case of Argentina.”

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Omar Palermo. “Dictatorship and Judicial Complicity: The Case of Argentina.” In Transitional Justice and the Criminal Responsibility of Judges. Edited by Claudia Cárdenas Aravena, Jaime Couso Salas, Florian Jeßberger, Milan Kuhli, pp. 46-60. London: Routledge, 2025. Summary: The systematic and widespread failure to investigate crimes committed by the judiciary during Argentina’s most recent civil-military dictatorship …

Helmke (2002), “The Logic of Strategic Defection: Court-Executive Relations in Argentina Under Dictatorship and Democracy.”

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Gretchen Helmke, “The Logic of Strategic Defection: Court–Executive Relations in Argentina Under Dictatorship and Democracy.” American Political Science Review, vol. 96, no. 2 (2002): 291–303.  Summary:  Building on the separation-of-powers approach in American politics, this article develops a new micro-level account of judicial decision-making in contexts where judges face institutional insecurity. Against conventional wisdom, this article …

Pereira (2003), “Explaining Judicial Reform Outcomes in New Democracies: The Importance of Authoritarian Legalism in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile”

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This article investigates how the legacies of authoritarian legal systems influence the capacity of attorneys to drive judicial reform in emerging democracies, with case studies from Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.

Garcia-Holgado (2023), “Court-Packing and Democratic Decay: A necessary relationship?”

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Benjamin Garcia-Holgado, “Court-Packing and Democratic Decay: A necessary relationship?” Global Constitutionalism, vol. 12, no. 2 (July 2023): 350-377 Summary: A growing body of literature on the role of courts in democratic backsliding claims that court-packing weakens liberal democracy. However, this is not necessarily the case. The goals of the actors who produce court-packing help to …

Garcia-Holgado (2023), “Radicalization and the Origins of Populist Narratives about the Courts: The Argentinian Case, 2007-2015.”

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Benjamin Garcia-Holgado, “Radicalization and the Origins of Populist Narratives about the Courts: The Argentinian Case, 2007–2015.” Journal of Illiberalism Studies, vol. 3, no. 2 (Summer 2023), 43-64. Summary: In Latin America, presidents from different ideological backgrounds have systematically attacked the judiciary in order to implement their preferred public policies. In many cases, the leaders who …

Botero, Garcia-Holgado (2024), “Judges under stress: The Argentine Supreme Court (2003-2023) and the Colombian Constitutional Court (2002-2023) amid polarization.”

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Sandra Botero, Benjamin Garcia-Holgado, “Judges under stress: The Argentine Supreme Court (2003-2023) and the Colombian Constitutional Court (2002-2023) amid polarization.” International Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 22, no.5 (December 2024): 1424-1448 Summary: In this article, the authors study how the Supreme Court of Argentina (2003-2023) and the Constitutional Court of Colombia (2002-2023) responded to periods …