Hans Petter Graver, “Judicial Independence Under Authoritarian Rule: An Institutional Approach to the Legal Tradition of the West.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, vol. 10, no. 2 (2018): 317-339. Summary: The autonomy of legal institutions is put on the most severe test when they are under attack by other organs of the state. …
Charles Manga Fombad, “Some Perspectives on the Prospects for Judicial Independence in Post-1990 African Constitutions.” The Denning Law Journal, vol. 16, no.1 (2012): 17-43 Summary: According to popular wisdom, judicial independence and the rule of law are essential features of modern democracy. Drawing on the growing comparative literature on courts, Helmke and Rosenbluth unpack this …
Gretchen Helmke and Frances Rosenbluth, “Regimes and the Rule of Law: Judicial Independence in Comparative Perspective.” Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 12, no. 1 (2009): 345-366. Summary: According to popular wisdom, judicial independence and the rule of law are essential features of modern democracy. Drawing on the growing comparative literature on courts, Helmke and …
Fiona Shen-Bayh, “Strategies of Repression: Judicial and Extrajudicial Methods of Autocratic Survival.” World Politics, vol. 70, no. 3 (2018): 321–57. Summary: Strategies of repression vary widely between extrajudicial and judicial extremes, from unrestrained acts of violence to highly routinized legal procedures. While the former have received a great deal of scholarly attention, judicial methods remain relatively …
Aylin Aydin, “Judicial Independence across Democratic Regimes: Understanding the Varying Impact of Political Competition.” Law & Society Review, vol. 47, no. 1 (2013): 105–34. Summary: One of the most prominent explanations of the creation and maintenance of independent judiciary is the “insurance theory” that proposes a positive relationship between political competition and judicial independence. But, does …
Lisa Hilbink and Matthew C. Ingram, “Courts and Rule of Law in Developing Countries.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics (23 May 2019). Summary: Under what conditions can courts be effective and the rule of law be meaningful in developing countries? The great variation within and between the vast category of developing countries greatly complicates the …
Taraleigh Davis, “The ‘Case’ for Independent Courts: The Insurance Theory of Judicialization in Autocracies.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 13, no. 1 (2025): 35–50. Summary: Why would authoritarian rulers allow for an independent judiciary that could constrain their power? This study extends the insurance theory of judicial independence to autocratic contexts, arguing that when …
Michael A. Dichio, “Stewards, defenders, progenitors, and collaborators: Courts in the age of democratic decline.” Law and Policy, vol. 47, no. 1 (2025): e12251. Summary: In this introductory essay to the special issue of Law & Policy, “Global Perspectives on Judicial Politics and Democratic Backsliding,” Dichio critically examines the paradoxical role of courts during episodes …
This article argues that entrenched authoritarian regimes strengthen judicial institutions to consolidate power by attracting investment, enforcing bureaucratic discipline, maintaining elite coalitions, and legitimizing controversial reforms.
This article explores how cause lawyers operate in authoritarian or conflicted settings where legal outcomes are often predetermined and victories are rare.