The lawfare in Argentina, a new political dynamic

Abstract

The concept of lawfare has gained visibility in the last few years. It was coined following the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. It was created to define the use of the law with illegal purposes. The definition has not been modified substantially, yet it has different implications in every society. In other words, the illegal use of the law works differently, depending on specific conditions of every country and their particular legal cultures. In this article we analyze the Argentinian case, focusing on its specific dynamic, its main components, and the way in which lawfare contrasts to the concept of judicialization of politics, despite their shared characteristics. To that end, we use historical-hermeneutical analysis. We conclude that both lawfare and the judicialization of politics are mainly derived from institutional weakness. The latter is the main source of a political culture like the Argentinian where the law is usually used as a device to override human rights. Finally, we state that lawfare often works as an indicator of the institutional capture of democracy. That makes it a tool used by political and economic elites to come with public policies without popular accountability.   Keywords: Judicialization of politics; Lawfare; Judiciary; Institutional weakness.