Kathryn Hendley, Legal Dualism as a Framework for Analyzing the Role of Law under Authoritarianism, 18 Ann. Rev. L. & Soc. Sci. 1.1 (2022)
Abstract
This article assesses the usefulness of Fraenkel’s concept of the dual state for understanding the role of law under authoritarianism. The concept, reframed as legal dualism, helps make sense of legal systems in which law matters most, but not all, of the time. A review of other analytical frameworks social scientists use to study authoritarian law reveals that they focus on the
predilection of authoritarian leaders to manipulate law and courts to advance their interests. They pay little attention to how mundane disputes are handled. Only legal dualism contemplates multiple narratives of law that are a reality in contemporary authoritarian regimes.
