Judicial review and contemporary democratic theory : power, domination and the courts / Scott E. Lemieux and David J. Watkins.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Beyond the countermajoritarian difficulty -- How not to argue about judicial review and democracy -- The revolution will be sub silentio: The Roberts Court and judicial minimalism -- Democracy-against-domination and contemporary democratice theory -- Compared to what? Judicial review as just another veto point -- Judicial review in a comparative context -- Conclusion : toward a realist, institutional democratic theory.

"For decades, the question of judicial review's status in a democratic political system has been adjudicated through the framework of what Alexander Bickel labeled 'the counter-majoritarian difficulty.' That is, the idea that judicial review is particularly problematic for democracy because it opposes the will of the majority. [This book] begins with an assessment of the empirical and theoretical flaws of this framework, and an account of the ways in which this framework has hindered meaningful investigation into judicial review's value within a democratic political system. To replace the counter-majoritarian difficulty framework, [the authors] draw on recent work in democratic theory emphasizing democracy's opposition to domination and analyses of constitutional court cases in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere to examine judicial review in its institutional and political context."-- Provided by publisher.