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Due Process and Homicide: A Cross-National Analysis
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Due Process and Homicide: A Cross-National Analysis

Erin Terese Huebert and David S. Brown
Political research quarterly, v 72(1)
01 Mar 2019

Abstract

Government & Law Political Science Social Sciences
As democracy advances in many regions throughout the world, it is often accompanied by increasing violence. Most cross-national analyses find that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between homicide and democracy: homicide rates are highest in hybrid regimes and lowest in authoritarian and democratic regimes. While a fairly robust empirical result, little is known about why it exists. We identify a specific institution-due process-that cuts across regime types and effectively explains homicide. Due process generates a legitimacy that encourages individuals to use the justice system to settle disputes. A more effective criminal justice system also deters crime in the first place. Using a cross-national sample of eighty-nine countries between 2009 and 2014, we find a strong negative relationship between due process and homicide. Put simply, how states fight crime explains their success.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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Web of Science research areas
Political Science
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