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<p>&#8220;Why do some high courts hold political branches to account and others not? What explains the judiciary&#180;s strong or weak defense of rights? And what role are courts playing &#8211;or not playing- in strengthening democracy in Latin America and Africa? This excellent volume advances a sophisticated comparative framework that seeks to explain the changing nature of courts&#8217; accountability function across a wide range of countries. Focusing on courts as a part of a complex &#8216;accountability nexus&#8217; involving institutions, power holders, and citizens, the authors convincingly argue that only complex, multi-causal frameworks can explain the changing behavior and role of courts. Through robust comparative analysis, this book significantly furthers our understanding of the role and potential of the judiciary in strengthening rights-based democracy and makes an important contribution to the existing literature.&#8221;--Rachel Sieder, Centro de Investigaci&#243;n y E

<p> Why do some high courts hold political branches to account and others not? What explains the judiciarys strong or weak defense of rights? And what role are courts playing -or not playing- in strengthening democracy in Latin America and Africa? This excellent volume advances a sophisticated comparative framework that seeks to explain the changing nature of courts' accountability function across a wide range of countries. Focusing on courts as a part of a complex 'accountability nexus' involving institutions, power holders, and citizens, the authors convincingly argue that only complex, multi-causal frameworks can explain the changing behavior and role of courts. Through robust comparative analysis, this book significantly furthers our understanding of the role and potential of the judiciary in strengthening rights-based democracy and makes an important contribution to the existing literature. --Rachel Sieder, Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social (CIES

<p> Why do some high courts hold political branches to account and others not? What explains the judiciarys strong or weak defense of rights? And what role are courts playing -or not playing- in strengthening democracy in Latin America and Africa? This excellent volume advances a sophisticated comparative framework that seeks to explain the changing nature of courts' accountability function across a wide range of countries. Focusing on courts as a part of a complex 'accountability nexus' involving institutions, power holders, and citizens, the authors convincingly argue that only complex, multi-causal frameworks can explain the changing behavior and role of courts. Through robust comparative analysis, this book significantly furthers our understanding of the role and potential of the judiciary in strengthening rights-based democracy and makes an important contribution to the existing literature. --Rachel Sieder, Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social (CIESAS), Mexico<p> This very interesting book is worth reading for any comparativist interested in courts, inter-branch relations, or democracy and good governance more broadly. It approaches courts from a slightly different perspective, avoiding the typical focus on independence, efficiency, or access, and arguing that we should pay attention to the extent to which courts fulfill their accountability function. The authors then define this accountability function and explore the role of courts in enhancing democracy, without falling into either a facile counter-majoritarian critique or an uncritical acceptance of courts as the source of all good things. --Daniel M. Brinks, Associate Professor, Comparative Politics and Public Law, University of Notre Dame<p> This volume represents an intellectual endeavour of great ambition and scope that enriches our understanding of judicial behaviour in developing countries with a focus on Latin America and Africa. It fills an important gap in the knowle

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SIRI GLOPPEN (PhD, University of Bergen) heads the 'Courts in Transition' program at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen and is Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Norway. BRUCE M. WILSON (PhD. Washington University, St. Louis) is an Associate Professor of comparative politics at the University of Central Florida and an affiliated researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway. ROBERTO GARGARELLA (SJD, University of Chicago) is Senior Researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway and is Professor of Constitutional Theory at the Universities of Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ELIN SKAAR (PhD, University of California, Los Angeles) is Research Director at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway. MORTEN KINANDER (PhD, University of Bergen) is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Bergen. Norway.   

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