The article examines how personal motives and structural factors shaped lawyers’ involvement in the “Stop the Steal” campaign, revealing broader patterns of polarization and democratic erosion within the legal profession.
United States of America
Cheesman and Min (2013), “Not Just Defending; Advocating for Law in Myanmar”
Cause lawyers in Myanmar use legal formality to promote justice and public accountability, challenging state power, but persistent impunity undermines trust in the law’s effectiveness.
Roznai (2013), “Revolutionary Lawyering? On Lawyers’ Social Responsibilities and Roles during a Democratic Revolution”
The article examines the dual and often conflicting roles of lawyers during revolutions, balancing their duty to uphold legal order with their responsibility to support revolutionary change and help shape new legal systems.
Surrency (1964), “The Lawyer and the Revolution”
The article explores how lawyers, though typically guardians of the legal order, played a pivotal and often paradoxical role in revolutionary movements by balancing their professional duties with commitments to political change.
Kapinga (1992), “The Legal Profession and Social Action in the Third World: Reflections on Tanzania and Kenya”
The legal professions in Tanzania and Kenya, despite operating under repressive state control, have played a crucial activist role in challenging authoritarianism—unlike their more individualistic counterparts in the West.
Abel (2023), How Autocrats Attack Expertise: Resistance to Trump and Trumpism
This book explores Trump’s attacks on expertise and truth, highlighting the resistance from professionals defending integrity against his autocratic tactics.
Abel (2023), How Autocrats Abuse Power: Resistance to Trump and Trumpism
This book examines Trump’s autocratic tactics and the resistance from various sectors that defended liberal democracy.
Abel (2024), How Autocrats Seek Power: Resistance to Trump and Trumpism
This book examines Trump’s attempts to subvert democracy and the various forms of resistance that defended liberal democracy against the threat of autocracy.
Abel (2025), How Autocrats Subvert Elections: Resistance to Trump and Trumpism
This book examines the January 6 insurrection and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, focusing on legal, political, and civic resistance to Trump’s autocratic actions.
Abel (2025), How Autocrats Are Held Accountable: Resistance to Trump and Trumpism
This book documents the legal and political battles against Trump and his supporters’ autocratic actions, analyzing lawsuits, prosecutions, and broader resistance efforts in defense of American democracy.