Laura Gamboa, Benjamín García-Holgado, Ezequiel González-Ocantos, “Courts against Backsliding: Lessons from Latin America.” Law & Policy, vol. 46, no. 4 (2024): 358–379. Summary: The recent wave of autocratization in Latin America has put courts at the center of debates about regime and regime change. Much of the literature on the judicial politics of democratic backsliding focuses …
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 …
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 …
Benjamin Garcia-Holgado and Raul Sanchez Urribarri, “The Dark Side of Legalism: Abuse of the Law and Democratic Erosion in Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela.” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 68, no. 12 (August 2024): 60-66. Summary: Why do some elected leaders use legalistic strategies to undermine democracy from within? And under what conditions do they succeed in …
Benjamin Garcia-Holgado, “Overruling the Executive: Judicial Strategies to Resist Democratic Erosion.” Journal of Laws and Courts, vol. 13, no.1 (April 2025): 274-303. Summary: How can autonomous apex courts with specific attitudes and role conceptions counter executive aggrandizement? This article theorizes two causal mechanisms through which justices can resist democratic erosion. The first mechanism involves apex courts …