Courts and informal networks: Towards a relational perspective on judicial politics outside Western democracies
| DOI | 10.1177/0192512118807065 |
| Published date | 01 November 2018 |
| Date | 01 November 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial Introduction |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512118807065
International Political Science Review
2018, Vol. 39(5) 573 –584
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512118807065
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Courts and informal networks:
Towards a relational perspective
on judicial politics outside
Western democracies
Björn Dressel
Australian National University, Australia
Raul Sanchez-Urribarri
La Trobe University, Australia
Alexander Stroh
University of Bayreuth, Germany
Abstract
This special issue proposes a relational approach to the study of judicial politics outside of Western
democracies. The articles illuminate how common political interests, ideas, social identity, family and
professional ties and even patron–client obligations between judges and other actors shape a variety
of phenomena of interest to the study of judicial institutions, in terms of how the judiciary is organised
and administered, how judges are appointed and make decisions, and the prospects for judicial reform.
Collectively, the articles explore the informal dimension of judicial politics in a systematic fashion, through
rich empirical case studies in very different contexts. Thus, they help structure a new comparative agenda
for research on informal judicial politics outside of the West.
Keywords
Judges, courts, informality, relational, clientelism, judicial networks
Introduction
Comparative analyses of how courts and judges make decisions have focused on Western democra-
cies, where politicians compete for power by endorsing specific policy values and platforms but all
Corresponding author:
Björn Dressel, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Email: bjoern.dressel@anu.edu.au
807065IPS0010.1177/0192512118807065International Political Science ReviewDressel et al.
research-article2018
Editorial Introduction
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