Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Judicial Politics of Land Disputes

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

General Summary The PI seeks to understand why citizens choose to utilize formal legal institutions as a mechanism for dispute resolution in authoritarian regimes through analysis of the emergence, litigation and resolution of land disputes. The PI argues that the decision to utilize formal legal mechanisms for dispute resolution is surprising given the authoritarian context in which personal ties heavily influence how the law works in practice. The co-PI uses survey data and court statistics to address three key questions: 1) what disputes exist; 2) which ones make it to the courts (and why); and 3) how these disputes are settled. The research addresses these questions by collecting, combining, and analyzing two types of data: original surveys of landholders and attorneys, and case statistics. Tracing these land disputes from their general incidence in the population through court rulings helps to illuminate how citizens in non-democracies mobilize law and courts in their interests. Given the large amount of aid earmarked for improving rule of law and citizens' access to justice in developing countries, developing a better understanding of this issue has broad policy implications. Technical Summary This project addresses an ongoing puzzle in comparative judicial politics: in authoritarian regimes with corrupt, dependent judiciaries, why do we see widespread use of civil courts, particularly for disputes involving state officials? In non-democracies, law is often applied selectively or subjectively. Where cases are non-political, there is some expectation that courts will fulfill their intended functions. However, if cases are political, informal influence is assumed to prevail. The PI examines this puzzle through analysis of the emergence, litigation and resolution of land disputes in Kazakhstan. The PI argues that the decision to utilize formal legal mechanisms for dispute resolution is surprising given the authoritarian context in which personal ties heavily influence how the law works in practice. The co-PI uses survey data and court statistics to address three key questions: 1) what disputes exist; 2) which ones make it to the courts (and why); and 3) how these disputes are settled. The research addresses these questions by collecting, combining, and analyzing two types of data: original surveys of landholders and attorneys, and case statistics. Tracing these land disputes from their general incidence in the population through court rulings helps to illuminate how citizens in non-democracies mobilize law and courts in their interests. Given the large amount of aid earmarked for improving rule of law and citizens' access to justice in developing countries, developing a better understanding of this issue has broad policy implications.