Customer Reviews

Political (In)Justice: Authoritarianism and the Rule of Law in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina (Pitt Latin American Studies)

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Anthony Pereira's Political (In)Justice: Authoritarianism and the Rule of Law in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina makes a valuable contribution to the small but growing literature on courts in authoritarian regimes. While other scholars have focused on rational-choice models for why authoritarian elites sometimes permit or even encourage judicial empowerment, Pereira argues that the type of regime matters. In particular, he notes that more radical military juntas in South America tended to pursue extrajudicial repression, while conservative ones allowed some judicialization. Pereira believes that a policy consensus between military and judicial officers and the amount of integration between the two corps within the military justice system make it more likely for the military to attempt to work with judges rather than around them. Overall, Pereira develops his theory with case studies from Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, and even expands the discussion to Nazi Germany, Franco's Spain, and Salazarian Portugal. He also extends his analysis into the U.S., which I thought was a bit tangential to his thesis, as was the discussion on transitional justice. Still, this should provide ample fodder for future research ideas in this field.