Law Commons^™

Illiberalism And Authoritarianism In The American States, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

Federalism contemplates subnational variation, but in the United States the nature and significance of that variation has long been contested. In light of the recent turn, globally and nationally, toward authoritarianism, and the concurrent sharp decline in public support not merely for democracy but for the philosophical liberalism on which democracy rests, it is necessary to discard or to substantially revise prior accounts of the nature of state-to-state variation in the U.S. All such accounts implicitly presuppose a common commitment, across the political spectrum, to the core tenets of democratic liberalism, and consequently that subnational variations in policy preferences and …

Conclusion: Law As Scapegoat, Cary Coglianese

All Faculty Scholarship

Populist nationalist movements have been on the rise around the world in recent years. These movements have tapped into, and fueled, a deep anger among many members of the public. Especially in the face of stagnant or declining economic prospects—as well as expanding inequality—much anger has been directed at minorities and migrants. Politicians with authoritarian tendencies have sought to leverage such public anger by reinforcing tendencies to scapegoat others for their society’s problems. In this paper, I show that laws and regulations—like migrants—can be framed as “the other” too and made into scapegoats. With reference to developments in Brazil, the …

Árbol Genealógico Del Consejo De Estado: El Constitucionalismo Autoritario En Nuestra Historia, Fernando Muñoz

Fernando Muñoz

An appeal to prestige and experience creates a historical continuity between various institutions: the Royal Audiencia, the Council of State, and the “institutional” and for-life senators. This work focuses on the discourse that articulates and unifies these various institutional forms throughout Chilean history, suggesting a context for the study of Chilean constitutional authoritarianism.

Where No Man Has Gone Before: Star Trek And The Death Of Cultural Relativism In America, Kenneth Anderson

Book Reviews

This 1997 Times Literary Supplement (London) essay reviews the 1996 Star Trek (Next Generation) film First Contact, along with a book of essays in cultural studies about Star Trek (Taylor Harrison, et al., Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek). Of greatest long term interest in the moral and political philosophy of Star Trek is the so-called Prime Directive - non interference in local culture on local planets. This Vietnam era ethic of cultural relativism was prominent in the original 1960s Star Trek series as much for its assertion as for being regularly violated by Captain Kirk and his crew. …

Where No Man Has Gone Before: Star Trek And The Death Of Cultural Relativism In America, Kenneth Anderson

Kenneth Anderson

Harvey: Law And Social Change In Ghana, Max Rheinstein

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Law and Social Change in Ghana By William Burnett Harvey