Table Of ContentUndueProcess
Why do autocrats hold political trials when outcomes are presumed
known from the start? Undue Process examines how autocrats
weaponize the judiciary to stay in control. Contrary to conventional
wisdomthatcourtsconstrainarbitrarypower,FionaFeiangShen-Bayh
argues that judicial processes can instead be used to legitimize dic-
tatorship and dissuade dissent when power is contested. Focusing
on sub-Saharan Africa since independence, Shen-Bayh draws on fine-
grainedarchivaldataonregimethreatsandstaterepressiontoexplain
why political trials are often political purges in disguise, providing
legal cover for the persecution of regime rivals. This compelling
analysisrevealshowcourtscanbeusedtorepresspoliticalchallengers,
institutionalize punishment,and undermine the rule of law.Engaging
andilluminating,UndueProcessprovidesnewtheoreticalinsightsinto
autocratic judiciaries and will interest political scientists and scholars
studyingauthoritarianregimes,Africanpolitics,andpoliticalcontrol.
fiona feiang shen-bayh is an assistant professor of government at
William&Mary.
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CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN LAW AND SOCIETY
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tional perspective.Seriesauthors comefromarangeof disciplines,
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MarkFathiMassoud,UniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz
Jens Meierhenrich, London School of Economics and Political
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RachelE.Stern,UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley
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Undue Process
Persecution and Punishment in Autocratic Courts
FIONA FEIANG SHEN-BAYH
William&Mary
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781009197137
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Contents
ListofFigures pageix
ListofTables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
1 TheProcessofPunishment 1
1.1 ThePuzzleofPoliticalTrials 3
1.2 ExistingExplanations 5
1.3 ATheoryofJudicialRepression 10
1.4 Contributions 14
1.5 CaseSelection 18
1.6 OverviewoftheBook 24
2 ATheoryofJudicialRepression 26
2.1 RethinkingRepression:ViolenceandPunishment
inPerspective 29
2.2 TheTheory:ExplainingJudicialRepression 31
2.3 ObservableImplications 52
3 ReadingaJudicialRitual 54
3.1 Background:RiseofaOne-PartyStateinKenya 55
3.2 AJudicialRitualtoRestoreOrderandObedience 58
3.3 DemonstrationsofLoyaltyastheTrialComestoaClose 70
3.4 AlternativeExplanations 74
3.5 BeyondKenya 78
4 WhoGoestoTrial? 80
4.1 ThreatstoAutocraticSurvival:CoupPlots 82
4.2 DataonCoupPlotsinPostcolonialAfrica 84
4.3 TestingWhoGoestoTrial 99
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viii Contents
4.4 TrialandPosttrialOutcomes 103
4.5 Conclusion 107
Appendix4A 108
5 PathwaysofPunishment 110
5.1 TheCaseofTanzania 113
5.2 TheCaseofSierraLeone 131
5.3 PathwaysofPunishmentinPerspective 150
6 ACooperativeJudiciary 152
6.1 Background:ColonialOriginsofPostcolonialCourts 154
6.2 DilemmasofaProfessionalizedJudiciary 163
6.3 Cross-NationalPatternsofJudicialCooperation 167
6.4 WhenProfessionalizationandPartisanshipareMisaligned 170
6.5 ExpandingtheJuristPoolBeyondAfrica 175
6.6 Conclusion 190
7 Conclusion 192
7.1 MainFindings 193
7.2 AvenuesforFutureResearch 196
7.3 ImplicationsforDueProcessinEmergingDemocracies 201
Bibliography 205
Index 213
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Figures
3.1 Front page story from The Daily Nation,a Kenyan
newspaper,detailingMutiso’sdetentionandimpending
trial page63
3.2 Front page story from The Daily Nation,a Kenyan
newspaper,urgingKenyanstoattendtheJuneloyaltyrally 71
4.1 Unsuccessful coups: Data from McGowan and Cline
Center 87
4.2 Unsuccessful coups: Data collected by author from
shadowarchives 91
4.3 Distributionofcoupplotsbyageofregime 92
4.4 Plotsizebycountry 93
4.5 DocumentsfromtheBritishNationalArchivesontreason
trialsinSierraLeone 95
4.6 Documents from the British National Archives on
politicaldetaineesinUganda 97
4.7 Distributionofrepressiontactics 97
4.8 Bivariatedistributionofchallenger-type and repression
strategy 100
4.9 Likelihoodofgoingtotrial 101
4.10 Likelihoodofgoingtotrial 102
4.11 Sentencingpatterns 105
5.1 TimelineofselecteventsinTanzania,1961–1971 130
5.2 TimelineofselecteventsinSierraLeone,1961–1971 150
6.1 TimelineofchiefjusticesinpostcolonialBritishAfrica 161
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