This article explores the transformation of Horst Mahler, a young German lawyer, into a founding member of the Red Army Faction—a far-left terrorist group active in West Germany during the 1970s.
This article revisits the classic thesis of France as an “obstinate state,” known for the resilience of its centralized authority, by showing how lawyers and judges have quietly shaped political development in ways that challenge this narrative.
Agnieszka Kubal, “Judicial Relational Legal Consciousness: Authoritarian Backsliding As A Catalyst Of Change.” Journal of Law and Society, vol. 51, (2024): 45-65. Summary: In the context of Poland’s authoritarian backsliding between 2015 and 2023, this article examines how legal professionals—particularly judges—respond to democratic erosion by reinterpreting and invoking human rights law. Some judges have taken …
Etienne Hanelt and Attila Vincze,“Managing Courts In Competitive Authoritarian Regimes: Co-Optation, Repression And Resistance In Hungary.” Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft (2025): 1-20. Summary: This chapter investigates how attorneys, particularly judges, navigate judicial backsliding in Hungary’s competitive authoritarian regime. Despite formal guarantees of judicial independence, the government has implemented strategic reforms to control the judiciary while maintaining …
This article explores how access to justice can be expanded in an authoritarian setting like Russia through the use of citizen legal advocates (CLAs)—ordinary citizens without formal legal education who represent defendants in criminal and administrative cases.
This article examines how defense lawyers in contemporary Russia strategically use publicity in trials involving protesters, despite the broader context of a politicized and often predetermined legal system.
This study investigates the professional challenges faced by lawyers in authoritarian regimes.
This article illustrates the dilemma lawyers face in authoritarian regimes—balancing resistance and survival—and highlights their potential role in both confronting and later rebuilding the rule of law.
This chapter explores how the AJI engaged in international campaigns against fascism and repression, using legal analysis, public advocacy, and symbolic trials to advance their cause.
This article examines the fragile state of the rule of law in Russia, highlighting its complicated relationship with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) since Russia ratified the European Convention in 1998.