This article examines how the Chinese state manages and shapes the legal profession in ways that support authoritarian rule, using mechanisms of professional socialization rather than relying solely on repression.
Asia
Pils (2014), China’s Human Rights Lawyers: Advocacy and Resistance
This book provides a powerful analysis of the role of human rights lawyers operating within an authoritarian legal regime, focusing on China.
Hualing (2011), “Challenging Authoritarianism through Law: Potentials and Limit”
This article explores the complex role of legal reform within authoritarian regimes, focusing on activist lawyers in China who strive to use the law to protect rights and promote social change.
Ramraj, Thiruvengadam (2009), “Emergency Powers in Asia: Exploring the Limits of Legality”
V. V. Ramraj & A. K Thiruvengadam, Emergency Powers in Asia: Exploring the Limits of Legality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Summary: What is the relevance of contemporary debates over emergency powers for countries situated in …
Kroncke (2025), “Legal Complicity in an Age of Resurgent Authoritarianism”
This article critiques the ethical assumptions underlying liberal legal professionals’ engagement with authoritarian regimes, particularly through the lens of modernization theory, which once promised that economic development would naturally lead to democratization.
Ginsburg, Moustafa (2008), “Introduction: The Functions of Courts in Authoritarian Politics”
Tom Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa. “Introduction: The Functions of Courts in Authoritarian Politics,” Introduction. In Rule by Law: The Politics of Courts in Authoritarian Regimes. Edited by Tom Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa, 1–22. Cambridge: Cambridge …
Tam (2018), “Political Transition and the Rise of Cause Lawyering: The Case of Hong Kong”
This article analyzes how cause lawyering emerged and thrived in Hong Kong under authoritarian conditions.
Lee (2017), “Lawyers And Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement: From Electoral Politics To Civil Disobedience”
This article examines the pivotal role of Hong Kong lawyers in the pro-democracy movement.
Alford (2007), “Of Lawyers Lost And Found: Searching For Legal Professionalism In The People’s Republic Of China”
This article critically examines American assumptions about the development of the legal profession in China.
Tam (2012), Legal Mobilization under Authoritarianism: The Case of Post-Colonial Hong
This article explores the dynamics of legal mobilization under authoritarian regimes, using post-colonial Hong Kong as a case study.