University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tag: Latin America

Perdomo (1996), “The Venezuelan Legal Profession: Lawyers in an Inegalitarian Society”

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Rogelio Pérez Perdomo. “The Venezuelan Legal Profession: Lawyers in an Inegalitarian Society.”  In Lawyers in Society: An Overview, edited by Richard L. Abel and Philip S.C. Lewis, pp. 201-220. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. This chapter provides historical and socio-political context for understanding Venezuela’s legal and institutional development. It traces Venezuela’s trajectory from Spanish …

Holgado & Urribarri (2024), “The Dark Side of Legalism: Abuse of the Law and Democratic Erosion in Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela”.

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Holgado, B. G., & Urribarri, R. S. (2024). The Dark Side of Legalism: Abuse of the Law and Democratic Erosion in Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela. American Behavioral Scientist, 68(12), 1578-1596. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642241268332 (Original work published 2024) The article investigates why some elected leaders successfully employ legalistic strategies to erode democracy from within and under what conditions …

Gamboa, García-Holgado, González-Ocantos (2024), “Courts against Backsliding: Lessons from Latin America.”

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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 …

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.

Llanos, Weber, Heyl, Stroh (2016), “Informal Interference in the Judiciary in New Democracies: A Comparison of Six African and Latin American Cases.”

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Mariana Llanos, Cordula Tibi Weber, Charlotte Heyl, and Alexander Stroh, “Informal Interference in the Judiciary in New Democracies: A Comparison of Six African and Latin American Cases.” Democratization, vol. 23, no. 7 (2016): 1236–53. Summary: This article focuses on the efforts of power holders – at the executive or the legislative level – to influence …

Fiss (1993), “The Limits of Judicial Independence.”

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Owen M. Fiss, “The Limits of Judicial Independence.” The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Fall, 1993): pp. 57-76  Summary: Two assumptions frequently underlie discussions concerning the transitions from dictatorship to democracy that occurred in Latin America in the 1980s. The first is that the judiciary will have an important role to …

Toharia (1975), “Judicial Independence In An Authoritarian Regime: The Case Of Contemporary Spain,”

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Jose J. Toharia, “Judicial Independence In An Authoritarian Regime: The Case Of Contemporary Spain.” Law & Society Review, vol. 9, no. 3 (1975): 475-496. Summary: This article challenges the reliability of global indicators in assessing judicial independence in Latin America, arguing that such metrics often overlook the complexity of judicial behavior in politically repressive contexts. While …

Huneeus, Couso, Sieder (2010), “Cultures of Legality: Judicialization and Political Activism in Contemporary Latin America.”

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Alexandra Huneeus, Javier Couso, and Rachel Sieder. “Cultures of Legality: Judicialization and Political Activism in Contemporary Latin America,” In Cultures of Legality: Judicialization and Political Activism in Latin America. Edited by Javier Couso, Alexandra Huneeus, and Rachel Sieder, pp. 3–22. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Summary: Legal practices and ideas about law are undergoing dramatic change …

Hilbink (2007), “Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship: Lessons from Chile,”

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Lisa Hilbink, Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship: Lessons from Chile. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Summary: Why did formerly independent Chilean judges, trained under and appointed by democratic governments, facilitate and condone the illiberal, antidemocratic, and anti-legal policies of the Pinochet regime? Challenging the assumption that adjudication in non-democratic settings is fundamentally different and …

Helmke (2010), “Public Support and Judicial Crises in Latin America”

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Gretchen Helmke, “Public Support and Judicial Crises in Latin America.” University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, vol. 13, no. 2 (2010): 397-411 Summary: How do courts establish their power? What conditions undermine it? The answer hinges on how aligned judges are with public opinion. Drawing on the history of the United States Supreme Court, …