The rule of law in nascent democracies : judicial politics in Argentina / Rebecca Bill Chavez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chavez, Rebecca Bill.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rule of law.

Democracy.

Rule of law--Argentina--Mendoza (Province).

Argentina--Mendoza (Province).

Rule of law--Argentina--San Luis (Province).

Mendoza (Argentina : Province)--Politics and government--Case studies.

Mendoza (Argentina : Province).

San Luis (Argentina : Province)--Politics and government--Case studies.

San Luis (Argentina : Province).

Argentina--San Luis (Province).

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xii, 255 pages : 1 map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, 2004.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Constructing the rule of law

Argentinas shifting executive-judicial balance of power

Monolithic party control and critical junctures : the erosion of the rule of law under Pern and Menem

A tale of two provinces : judicial autonomy in San Luis and Mendoza

Monolithic party control and executive dominance in San Luis

Party competition and the rule of law in Mendoza

The politics of reform coalitions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [217]-235) and index.

ISBN:

0804748128

OCLC:

53459282