The Limits of Judicialization: From Progress to Backlash in Latin America [Hardcover]

Utilizing case studies of seven Latin American countries, this book reassesses the role of legal institutions in the politics of the region.Focusing on several hot-button topics in Latin American politics, including abortion, state violence, judicial corruption and corruption prosecutions, The Limits of Judicialization explains why the institutional and cultural changes that empowered the region's courts often fall short of the promise of greater accountability and rights protection.Focusing on several hot-button topics in Latin American politics, including abortion, state violence, judicial corruption and corruption prosecutions, The Limits of Judicialization explains why the institutional and cultural changes that empowered the region's courts often fall short of the promise of greater accountability and rights protection.Latin America was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic adopters of what has come to be known as the judicialization of politics - the use of law and legal institutions as tools of social contestation to curb the abuse of power in government, resolve policy disputes, and enforce and expand civil, political, and socio-economic rights. Almost forty years into this experiment, The Limits of Judicialization brings together a cross-disciplinary group of scholars to assess the role that law and courts play in Latin American politics. Featuring studies of hot-button topics including abortion, state violence, judicial corruption, and corruption prosecutions, this volume argues that the institutional and cultural changes that empowered courts, what the editors call the 'judicialization superstructure,' often fall short of the promise of greater accountability and rights protection. Illustrative and expansive, this volume offers a truly interdisciplinary analysis of the limits of judicialized politics.1. Working in New Political Spaces: The Checkered History of Latin American Judicialization Sandra Botero, Daniel Brinks, and Ezequiel Gonzalez Ocantos; lĵ