This use of the word authoritarian may reflect the concerns of liberalprogressive. Using workers narratives, surveys, and case studies of protests, gallagher argues that chinas halfhearted attempt at rule of law construction undermines the stability of authoritarian rule. Once regarded as mere pawns of their regimes, courts in authoritarian states. Authoritarianism law and legal definition uslegal, inc.
Resurgent authoritarianism and the international rule of law. Convinced that free markets and rule of law must tip authoritarian societies in a liberal direction, nearly all studies of law and contemporary politics have neglected. Pdf cambridge studies in law and society authoritarian rule. Through a focus on singapore, this book presents an analysis of authoritarian legalism. The rule of law, therefore, is supposed to promote equality under the law. Scholars have generally assumed that authoritarianism and rule of law are mutually incompatible. Authoritarianism, principle of blind submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action. Pdf cambridge studies in law and society authoritarian. In government, authoritarianism denotes any political system that concentrates power in the hands of a leader or a small elite that is not constitutionally responsible to the body of the people. Comparing democracy and authoritarianism democracies.
It shows how institutions and process become tools to constrain dissenting citizens. Authoritarianism law and legal definition authoritarianism refers to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state. Pdf authoritarian rule of law legislation discourse and. Authoritarian states become more comfortable with supporting repressive regimes, even in periods of intense violence, less willing to make cooperation conditional on human rights and rule of law concerns, and more likely to export the authoritarian behaviours and ideas they practise at home. Authoritarian challenges to the liberal order institute for. However, many others, left disappointed with the large gap between law on the books and law in reality, reject the courtroom for the streets. Legislation, discourse and legitimacy in singapore. Authoritarian rule of law and regime legitimacy introduction one prominent hypothesis to explain the durability of authoritarian regimes focuses on the official embrace of law and legal institutions. Authoritarian governments may hold elections and they may have contact with their citizens, but citizens do not have any voice in how they are ruled. Authoritarian systems do not allow freedoms of speech, press, and religion, and they do not follow majority rule nor protect minority rights. Authoritarian rule of law spans the period from colonization to the present, using a series of case studies to provide a sweeping as well as detailed and textured portrait of the rule of law in singapore. The term rule of law refers to a system in which all participants, including preeminent elites and the ruling party, are subject to the law. Cambridge core sociolegal studies authoritarian rule of law by jothie rajah.
As a result, nearly all studies in comparative judicial politics. Legislation, discourse and legitimacy in singapore, by jothie rajah, is an examination of singapores rule by law strategies with a close examination of four key pieces of legislation. New research examines the ways in which law and courts are deployed as instruments of governance, how they structure statesociety contention, and the circumstances in which courts are transformed into sites of active. Authoritarian constitutionalism cornell law school. Critics of the rule of law, however, have noted that this system creates a ruling elite that has the power to manipulate through the law. He is the author of democracy and development cambridge university press, 1992 and institutions and.
The idea that authoritarian regimes employ law to entrench their rule extends slaters recent invocation of infrastructural power and reflects. The principal and most apparent function of law and courts in authoritarian regimes is the ef. World politics, volume 60, number 1, october 2007, pp. Goals, strategies, and methods of modern authoritarians executive summary central to the modern authoritarian strategy is the. See also text accompanying notes below discussing the literature on the role of constitutional. Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic in nature, and may be based upon the rule of a party or the. Their leaders do not give their subjects free choice.
Michelman, law s republic, supra note 8, at 149499. Two decades ago, martin shapiro urged public law scholars to expand their horizons and begin studying any public law other than constitutional law, any court other than the supreme court, any public lawmaker other then the judge, and any country. Justice owen roberts came to oxford in november 1951 to deliver his often cited lecture on the rule of law. Although growing at a fast pace, contemporary scholarship on dictatorships has so far generated only a fragmented understanding of authoritarian politics. Through a focus on singapore, this book presents an analysis of authoritarian legalism, showing how prosperity, public discourse, and a rigorous observance of legal procedure enable a reconfigured rule of law liberal form but illiberal content. The role of direct democracy in democratic deconsolidation katherine collin referendus and direct deocracy are often thought to underine deocratic systes, but a. Although emphasis on obedience to rules or texts can sometimes restrain a judge from approving an authoritarian practice or reaching an authoritarian result. Choose from 83 different sets of authoritarian rule flashcards on quizlet. The term rule by law, by contrast, refers to a system in which preeminent elites and the ruling party place themselves above the law. A prominent hypothesis to explain the durability of authoritarian regimes focuses on the official adoption of law and legal institutions. Pdf scholars have generally assumed that courts in authoritarian states are pawns of their regimes, upholding the interests of governing.
For most of human history, attaching military to rule would have been. Authoritarian rule of law and regime legitimacy susan h. Authoritarian rule of law by jothie rajah goodreads. Authoritarian rule of law by jothie rajah cambridge core. Authoritarian regimes one ruler or a small group of leaders have the real power in authoritarian political systems. Authoritarian rule of law cambridge studies in law and. The rule of law and authoritarian rule wiley online library. Aug 30, 2010 singapore may owe its authoritarian constitutionalism to this mechanism. The present study offers a novel empirical approach to test the relationship between legal construction and regime legitimation, drawing on a quasiexperiment and original panel survey in rural china.
The recent trials of vietnamese democracy activists. Authoritarian rule of law, rule of law, rule by law, dictatorship, authoritarianism, transition, hybrid regimes, democracy promotion, nationbuilding, statebuilding oxford scholarship online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. New research examines the ways in which law and courts are deployed as instruments of governance, how they structure statesociety. Legislation, discourse and legitimacy in singapore scholars have generally assumed that authoritarianism and rule. Part of thepolitical science commons this open access dissertation is brought to you by scholar commons. Legislation, discourse and legitimacy in singapore scholars have generally assumed that authoritarianism and rule of law are mutually incompatible. Legislation, discourse and legitimacy in singapore cambridge studies in law and society 9781107634169.
The economic foundations of authoritarian rule clay robert fuller university of south carolina follow this and additional works at. Military rule, political regime in which the military as an organization holds a preponderance of power. Authoritarian, and humanitarian legacies in sudan, massoud develops the concept of legal politics, arguing that the way the rule. He concludes that the forms of legal politics that reinforce the power and authority of legal institutions are. The vandalism act, the press act, the legal professions act, and the religious harmony act. The authoritarian impulse in constitutional law, 42 u. Given this thick conception of the rule of law, authoritarian practices that remove constraints on domestic political leaders and weaken mechanisms for holding them accountable necessarily erode both. The term military rule as used here is synonymous with military regime and refers to a subtype of authoritarian regime. Authoritarianism is a form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms.
Political scientists have created many typologies describing variations of authoritarian forms of government. Convinced that free markets and rule of law must tip authoritarian societies in a liberal direction, nearly all studies of law and contemporary politics have neglected that improbable coupling. Rev 531 1988 hereinafter west, authoritarian impulse. Authoritarian rule of law two common assumptions are made about the rule of law. The leaders title does not automatically indicate a particular type of government. Colonial, authoritarian, and humanitarian legacies in sudan, massoud develops the concept of legal politics, arguing that the way the rule of law works varies with the political system in which it is embedded.
Once regarded as mere pawns of their regimes, courts in authoritarian states are now the subject of considerable attention within the field of comparative judicial politics. The skills tested were definitional, descriptive, and explanatory. Book authoritarian rule of law, by jothie rajah yawning. Courts and judges in authoritarian regimes peter h. Authoritarian states, by definition, undermine civil societythe basis on which the public sphere is builtthus conventional wisdom tells us that the conditions for political life and a public sphere in such contexts are likely to be quite bleak and suffocating habermas 1996, 369. Sep 07, 2019 ruleoflaw norms and principles, at both domestic and international levels, are designed to protect the freedom and dignity of the person. Authoritarian rule of law and regime legitimacy susan.