Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship Lessons from Chile [Hardcover]

This book analyzes Chilean judicial behavior before, during, and after authoritarian rule.This book examines different hypotheses about Chilean judicial behavior before, during, and after the authoritarian interlude. The book explores arguments based on judges' personal policy preferences, social class, and legal philosophy, but contends that institutional features, grounded in the ideal of apoliticism, best explain judges' conservative and conformist conduct.This book examines different hypotheses about Chilean judicial behavior before, during, and after the authoritarian interlude. The book explores arguments based on judges' personal policy preferences, social class, and legal philosophy, but contends that institutional features, grounded in the ideal of apoliticism, best explain judges' conservative and conformist conduct.A longitudinal case study of Chile that assesses competing hypotheses regarding judicial behavior in both democratic and undemocratic contexts, this book explores the relevance of regime-related factors, judges' personal policy preferences, social class, and legal philosophy, but argues that institutional features grounded in the ideal of apoliticism best explain the persistent failure of Chilean judges to take stands in defense of rights and rule of law principles, before, during, and after the authoritarian interlude. Dr. Hilbink offers comparative examples to support broader theoretical claims about when judges will be willing and able to assert their independence against abuses of public power.Introduction; 1. The judiciary, the rule of law, and democracy: aspirations and impediments; 2. The institutional construction and the judicial role in Chile; 3. Conservative activism in the heyday of democracy, 1964 to 1973; 4. Legitimizing authoritarianism, 1973 to 1990; 5. Continuity and change after the return of democracy, 1990 to 2000; 6. Conclusions and implications; Appendixes. ...The book's content nicely reflects the decade of resealÃ2