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Author Bowen, Rachel E., author.

Title The achilles heel of democracy : judicial autonomy and the rule of law in Central America / Rachel E. Bowen, the Ohio State University
Published Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2017
©2017

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Description 1 online resource (x, 292 pages)
Contents Societally penetrated judiciaries and the democratic rule of law -- The evolution of judicial regimes -- Costa Rica: a liberal judicial regime --Government control regimes in Central America versus the rule of law -- Clandestine control in Guatemala -- Partisan systems
Summary "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
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed March 5, 2018)
Subject Judicial independence -- Central America
Justice, Administration of -- Central America
Judges -- Central America
Political questions and judicial power -- Central America
Rule of law -- Central America
LAW -- Civil Procedure.
LAW -- Legal Services.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Government -- Judicial Branch.
Judges
Judicial independence
Justice, Administration of
Political questions and judicial power
Rule of law
Central America
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781316823514
1316823512
9781316838716
1316838714
9781316838204
131683820X