The achilles heel of democracy : judicial autonomy and the rule of law in Central America / Rachel E. Bowen.

Author
Bowen, Rachel E. [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2017.
  • ©2017
Description
x, 292 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Availability

Available Online

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    Details

    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    "Featuring the first in-depth comparison of the judicial politics of five under-studied Central American countries, The Achilles Heel of Democracy offers a novel typology of 'judicial regime types' based on the political independence and societal autonomy of the judiciary. This book highlights the under-theorized influences on the justice system - criminals, activists, and other societal actors, and the ways that they intersect with more overtly political influences. Grounded in interviews with judges, lawyers, and activists, it presents the 'high politics' of constitutional conflicts in the context of national political conflicts as well as the 'low politics' of crime control and the operations of trial-level courts. The book begins in the violent and often authoritarian 1980s in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and spans through the tumultuous 2015 'Guatemalan Spring'; the evolution of Costa Rica's robust liberal judicial regime is traced from the 1950s"-- Provided by publisher.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    Contents
    Machine generated contents note: 1. Societally penetrated judiciaries and the democratic rule of law; 2. The evolution of judicial regimes; 3. Costa Rica: a liberal judicial regime; 4. Government control regimes in Central America versus the rule of law; 5. Clandestine control in Guatemala; 6. Partisan systems; Conclusion.
    ISBN
    • 9781107178328 (hardcover)
    • 1107178320 (hardcover)
    • 9781316630907 (paperback)
    • 1316630900 (paperback)
    LCCN
    2017005280
    OCLC
    974672465
    Statement on language in description
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