LS13CH07-Dressel ARI 17 May 2017 12:20 R E V I E W S I N A D V A N C E The Informal Dimension of Judicial Politics: a Relational Perspective Bj ¨ orn Dressel, 1 Raul Sanchez-Urribarri, 2 and Alexander Stroh 3 1 Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia; email: bjoern.dressel@anu.edu.au 2 School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3083, Australia; email: r.sanchezu@latrobe.edu.au 3 Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth D-95440, Germany, email: alexander.stroh@uni-bayreuth.de Annu. Rev. Law Soc. Sci. 2017. 13:7.1–7.18 The Annual Review of Law and Social Science is online at lawsocsci.annualreviews.org https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci- 110316-113750 Copyright c  2017 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved Keywords judicial, networks, courts, Global South, relational approach, informality Abstract This article proposes a relational approach to studying judicial politics in non-Western societies—a framework for the systematic analysis of informal relations between judges and other actors, within and outside the judiciary, based on common political interests, ideas, social identity, and even clien- telistic obligations. We reflect on how these relations might help explain a variety of outcomes of interest, such as the organization of courts, judicial behavior, and judicial reform. We also highlight some of the methodological challenges of this approach in collecting and analyzing comparative data. In doing so, we seek to build an agenda for research on informal judicial politics beyond Western democracies. 7.1 Review in Advance first posted online on May 24, 2017. (Changes may still occur before final publication online and in print.) Changes may still occur before final publication online and in print Annu. Rev. Law. Soc. Sci. 2017.13. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Australian National University on 07/11/17. For personal use only.