The Rule of Law in Nascent Democracies: Judicial Politics in Argentina

This book explains how the rule of law emerges and how it survives in nascent democracies.

The question of how nascent democracies construct and fortify the rule of law is fundamentally about power. By focusing on judicial autonomy, a key component of the rule of law, this book demonstrates that the fragmentation of political power is a necessary condition for the rule of law. In particular, it shows how party competition sets the stage for independent courts.

Using case studies of Argentina at the national level and of two neighboring Argentine provinces, San Luis and Mendoza, this book also addresses patterns of power in the economic and societal realms. The distribution of economic resources among members of a divided elite fosters competitive politics and is therefore one path to the requisite political fragmentation. Where institutional power and economic power converge, a reform coalition of civil society actors can overcome monopolies in the political realm.

Author: Rebecca Bill Chavez
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 04/08/2004
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.09lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.38w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9780804748124

Review Citation(s):
Choice 12/01/2004 pg. 730

About the Author
Rebecca Bill Chavez is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the United States Naval Academy.

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