Courts

This course takes an interdisciplinary, comparative, and empirical perspective on the design and operation of courts as institutions. Topics of interest include the manner in which social scientists study courts; the nature and basis of judicial power; the practical effects of judicial review; the different ways in which a system of judicial review can be designed; the role of courts in nondemocratic environments; the challenges of conceptualizing and achieving judicial independence; and the dynamics by which courts expand into the domain of politics.