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Political Trials in Theory and History

Jens Meierhenrich

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Description for Political Trials in Theory and History hardcover. This book presents an empirically rigorous and theoretically sophisticated account of political trials. Editor(s): Meierhenrich, Jens; Pendas, Devin O. Num Pages: 430 pages, 6 b/w illus. BIC Classification: JPA; LAZ. Category: (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly. Dimension: 228 x 152 x 30. Weight in Grams: 780.
From the trial of Socrates to the post-9/11 military commissions, trials have always been useful instruments of politics. Yet there is still much that we do not understand about them. Why do governments use trials to pursue political objectives, and when? What differentiates political trials from ordinary ones? Contrary to conventional wisdom, not all political trials are show trials or contrive to set up scapegoats. This volume offers a novel account of political trials that is empirically rigorous and theoretically sophisticated, linking state-of-the-art research on telling cases to a broad argument about political trials as a socio-legal phenomenon. All the ... Read more

Product Details

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Format

Hardback

Publication date

2017

Condition

New

Weight

779g

Number of Pages

430

Place of Publication

Cambridge, United Kingdom

ISBN

9781107079465

SKU

V9781107079465

Shipping Time

Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days

Ref

99-12

About Jens Meierhenrich

Jens Meierhenrich is Associate Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His books include The Legacies of Law: Long-Run Consequences of Legal Development in South Africa, 1652-2000 (Cambridge, 2008), which won the American Political Science Association's 2009 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book on politics, government, or international affairs, Lawfare: Gacaca Jurisdictions, ... Read more

Reviews for Political Trials in Theory and History

'This is a remarkable book. Meierhenrich and Pendas have assembled a wonderful and coherent collection. They offer a new understanding of political trials, one which illuminates both the juridical dimensions of political life and the way political meanings shape courts and trials. Broad in its historical and cultural sweep, impressive in its scholarship, uniformly persuasive, Political Trials in Theory and ... Read moreHistory will quickly become a must-read among students of law and politics.' Austin Sarat, Associate Dean of the Faculty and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College, Massachusetts 'All trials are political. Sometimes we see it, sometimes we don't. This collection is a marvelous exploration of that often forgotten fact, demonstrating to us the need to be able to appraise the uses of the criminal law and legal process for many kinds of political ends, some of which we have reason to agree with, while others can only appear as highly dubious. This is an intelligent and timely intervention in a field too often shrouded in technicalities.' Martti Koskenniemi, University of Helsinki and Director of the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights 'Criminal trials are fascinating, as Hollywood learned long ago. Political trials are even better: the stakes are higher; the participants loom larger. These fourteen case studies of major trials, organized in accordance with a framework that the editors provide, are genuinely illuminating and wonderfully engaging.' Michael Walzer, Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, New Jersey 'Political trials in theory and history shows that, in too many trials, it is very difficult to separate the administration of justice from explicit or, more often, implicit political goals. The book makes two key contributions to the understanding of political trials. The first comes from a rather dense, though well-articulated, introductory chapter from the editors. The second is a list of inspiring case-studies devoted to 14 trials held across 25 centuries, from Socrates to Guantanamo Bay.' Daniele Archibugi, International Affairs 'This is a remarkable book. Meierhenrich and Pendas have assembled a wonderful and coherent collection. They offer a new understanding of political trials, one which illuminates both the juridical dimensions of political life and the way political meanings shape courts and trials. Broad in its historical and cultural sweep, impressive in its scholarship, uniformly persuasive, Political Trials in Theory and History will quickly become a must-read among students of law and politics.' Austin Sarat, Associate Dean of the Faculty and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College, Massachusetts 'All trials are political. Sometimes we see it, sometimes we don't. This collection is a marvelous exploration of that often forgotten fact, demonstrating to us the need to be able to appraise the uses of the criminal law and legal process for many kinds of political ends, some of which we have reason to agree with, while others can only appear as highly dubious. This is an intelligent and timely intervention in a field too often shrouded in technicalities.' Martti Koskenniemi, University of Helsinki and Director of the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights 'Criminal trials are fascinating, as Hollywood learned long ago. Political trials are even better: the stakes are higher; the participants loom larger. These fourteen case studies of major trials, organized in accordance with a framework that the editors provide, are genuinely illuminating and wonderfully engaging.' Michael Walzer, Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, New Jersey 'Political trials in theory and history shows that, in too many trials, it is very difficult to separate the administration of justice from explicit or, more often, implicit political goals. The book makes two key contributions to the understanding of political trials. The first comes from a rather dense, though well-articulated, introductory chapter from the editors. The second is a list of inspiring case-studies devoted to 14 trials held across 25 centuries, from Socrates to Guantanamo Bay.' Daniele Archibugi, International Affairs Show Less

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Political Trials in Theory and History

Jens Meierhenrich

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