Courts in the Age of Polarization
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- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Publication date:
- 13 August 2026
- 17 September 2026
- ISBN:
- 9781009331920
- 9781009331951
- Dimensions:
- (229 x 152 mm)
- Weight & Pages:
- 170 Pages
- Dimensions:
- Weight & Pages:
- Subjects:
- Constitutional and Administrative Law, Law, Jurisprudence
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- Constitutional and Administrative Law, Law, Jurisprudence
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Book description
This book offers the first comprehensive comparative study of how political polarization reshapes the role and functioning of supreme and constitutional courts. Drawing on case studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India, Israel, Germany, Spain, and other jurisdictions, it examines how courts are transformed when deep political and social divisions meet powerful judicial institutions. The book identifies the factors that drive courts toward partisanship, the mechanisms through which polarization alters judicial nominations, decision-making and public trust, and the broader implications for the rule of law and democratic stability. It also analyzes reform proposals aimed at reducing the political stakes surrounding courts or balancing their internal composition. Combining theoretical analysis with rich comparative materials, the book will be of interest to scholars, students, and readers seeking to understand the challenges that polarized democracies face in maintaining legitimate, independent, and effective courts.
Reviews
‘In this book, two of our keenest observers of comparative judicial politics set their sights on the issue of our day: how can courts conduct their work in deeply polarized democracies? Leveraging insights and experience from multiple jurisdictions, the book provides a resource for our moment, and promises to stimulate important debate on the road ahead.'
Tom Ginsburg - The University of Chicago
‘Polarization and Courts draws much needed attention to what this book makes clear is a growing global phenomenon: declining public trust in the possibility of judicial decision-making meaningfully independent from politics. Comparing shifting public views of the courts across multiple national settings, the authors identify political polarization not only as among key causes of declining public faith, but also as a critical guidepost in selecting effective paths to reform. At a moment when constitutional democracies are struggling worldwide with populist leaders intent on consolidating authoritarian control, Porat and Cohen-Eliya remind us of the urgent need to preserve the courts as an independent check on power.'
Deborah Pearlstein - Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
Contents
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