Emerging Judicial Power in Transitional Democracies

Download or read book Emerging Judicial Power in Transitional Democracies written by Rachel L. Ellett and published by ProQuest. This book was released on 2008 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is broadly accepted that an independent and empowered judiciary is central to the rule of law. This dissertation examines the construction of judicial power in emerging democracies through addressing the paradoxical presence of strong judicial power in weak and volatile democracies. I argue that we must unpack our assumptions about democracy and move beyond regime based theories of judicial behavior. I find that existing strategic decision-making theories do not adequately account for the emergence of judicial power in sub-Saharan Africa. Instead this study finds that variation in level of judicial institutionalization or viability accounts for the presence of strong judicial power in weak democracies. A judiciary with a high level of institutional viability is able to withstand the frequent exogenous shocks typically present in sub-Saharan Africa's neopatrimonial regimes.