The Political Economy of Rule Law: Courts, Land Rights and Legal Recognition

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

This panel explores the evolution of legal systems in developing countries around the world and from different time periods, focusing on themes related to law, courts, land rights, and legal recognition in colonial and post-colonial regimes. In particular, these projects explore interactions between the state and indigenous institutions, examine institutional legacies on contemporary political outcomes, and provide new insight into the politics of law, order, and justice in developing contexts.

Three of these projects focus on the impact of colonial institutions on rule of law outcomes. In the context of colonial Latin America, Edgar Franco Vivanco studies the use of Spanish legal system by Indigenous people to defend their lands as a substitute for violence. Fiona Shen-Bayh argues that post-colonial autocrats in Africa relied on British expats to foster judicial compliance to autocratic rule. Analyzing the interaction between colonial land policy and traditional land institutions, Alexandra Blackman explores the heterogeneous legacies of French rule in North Africa. The fourth project turns to more contemporary rule of law dynamics. Focusing on the Philippines, Nina McMurry examines how granting collective self-determination rights to Indigenous communities over land and the administration of justice affect voting behavior and the quality of democracy.

These projects leverage a variety of data sources and research methods, ranging from archival resources to survey experiments. In line with the 2019 meeting’s theme, this panel demonstrates the value of historical and comparative research to assess how populist concerns over access to land and control of the judiciary interact with legal institutions established by political elites, both historically and today.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 6: Political Economy

Individual Presentations

• Swords into Lawsuits: Strategies of Indigenous Resistance and Accommodation - Edgar Franco Vivanco, Stanford University

• Colonization and the Transformation of the ‘Waqf’ System - Alexandra Domike Blackman, Stanford University

• Compliant Courts: Determinants of Judicial Obedience in Postcolonial Regimes - Fiona Shen-Bayh, College of William and Mary

• From Recognition to Representation: Indigenous Institutions and Citizenship - Nina Katherine Siegel McMurry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Chair

• Beatriz Magaloni Stanford University

Discussant

• William Hurst Northwestern University