Autocracy, totalitarianism and dictatorship Books

Book SynopsisThis review examines the literature on procedural justice and the fair trial over the past two decades in the People’s Republic of China. Part 1 gives a wide-angle view of the key political events and developments that have shaped the experience of procedural justice and the fair trial in contemporary China. It provides a storyline that explains the political environment in which these concepts have developed over time. Part 2 examines how scholars understand the legal structures of the criminal process in relation to China’s political culture. Part 3 presents scholarly views on three enduring problems relating to the fair trial: a presumption of innocence, interrogational torture, and the role of lawyers in the criminal trial process. Procedural justice is a particularly pertinent issue today in China, because Xi Jinping’s yifa zhiguo 依法治国 (governing the nation in accordance with the law) governance platform seeks to embed a greater appreciation for procedural justice in criminal justice decision-making, to correct a politico-legal tradition overwhelmingly focused on substantive justice. Overall, the literature reviewed in this article points to the serious limitations in overcoming the politico-legal barriers to justice reforms that remain intact in the system, despite nearly four decades of constant reform.Table of ContentsContents Author Biographies Procedural Justice and the Fair Trial in Contemporary Chinese Criminal Justice Elisa Nesossi and Susan Trevaskes Abstract Keywords  Introduction  1 The Justice Storyline  2 The Policy-Implementing Structures of the Criminal Process  3 Three Areas of Concern  4 Conclusion  References

Read more less

Book SynopsisAt first glance, this book might appear to be yet another study on anti-Semitism in Argentina, supplementing those portraying this Southern Cone country as a Nazi shelter and perpetrator of anti-Jewish acts. Accounts of the last military dictatorship (1976-1983), which was responsible for the disappearance of thousands of people of Jewish origin, have contributed to this image. Memories that Lie a Little, however, challenges this view, shedding new light on Jewish experiences during the military dictatorship. Based on extensive archival research, it maps the positions of a wide range of Jewish organizations toward the military regime, opening the way for a better understanding of this complex historical period. If, then, the dictatorship was not actually anti-Semitic in the strictest sense of the term, why is it remembered as such? Historical research is complemented here by a reconstruction of the ways in which the notion of the regime’s anti-Semitism was crafted from early on, and an examination of its uses, as well as the changes that this narrative underwent in the following years.Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction 1 The Jewish Community between the “Cámpora Spring” and the Assault on Power by the Military Junta 2 The March 24, 1976, Coup d’état and Acceptance of the Discourse on the “Anti-subversive Struggle” 3 Reactions to Manifestations of Public and Clandestine Anti-Semitism during the Last Military Dictatorship 4 The Dimensions of “Normalcy” and the Flourishing Public Life of Jewish Institutions 5 Between the Collapse of the Regime and Fractures within the Jewish Community 6 Conflicting Discourses and Representations of the Jewish Community regarding its Conduct during the Last Military Dictatorship: The Case of DAIA 7 Nueva Presencia and Resistance to the Military Dictatorship Conclusions-Memories that Lie a Little Glossary: Institutions Bibliography Index

Read more less