The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justice

This study examines the supposed “activism” of Israel’s High Court of Justice amid recent political crises and legislative efforts to curb its powers. While judicial behavior often balances political activism and constitutional problem-solving, this paper analyzes the Court’s agenda structure to ass...

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Main Authors: Maoz Rosenthal, Assaf Meydani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Political Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2025.1533270/full
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author Maoz Rosenthal
Assaf Meydani
author_facet Maoz Rosenthal
Assaf Meydani
author_sort Maoz Rosenthal
collection DOAJ
description This study examines the supposed “activism” of Israel’s High Court of Justice amid recent political crises and legislative efforts to curb its powers. While judicial behavior often balances political activism and constitutional problem-solving, this paper analyzes the Court’s agenda structure to assess its approach. The research hypothesizes that an activist court would maintain an agenda focused on a few core topics over time. In contrast, a court that takes a legal, constitutional approach would have an agenda with a broad array of topics and policy punctuations. Analyzing the Court’s rulings from 1995 to 2018, this study reveals an agenda structure mostly aligning with the latter expectation. By examining the dynamics of policy attention, this paper contributes to our understanding of judicial review strategies beyond traditional preference and incentive-based models. The findings suggest that Israel’s High Court of Justice usually operates more as a legal problem solver than an activist institution, offering new insights into its role in Israeli politics and policymaking.
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spelling doaj-art-e1cb2425c7d04d719d437b1d7ad3104e2025-01-29T06:45:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Political Science2673-31452025-01-01710.3389/fpos.2025.15332701533270The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justiceMaoz Rosenthal0Assaf Meydani1Department of Politics and Communication, Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, IsraelSchool of Government and Society, The Academic College of Tel Aviv Yafo, Tel Aviv-Yafo, IsraelThis study examines the supposed “activism” of Israel’s High Court of Justice amid recent political crises and legislative efforts to curb its powers. While judicial behavior often balances political activism and constitutional problem-solving, this paper analyzes the Court’s agenda structure to assess its approach. The research hypothesizes that an activist court would maintain an agenda focused on a few core topics over time. In contrast, a court that takes a legal, constitutional approach would have an agenda with a broad array of topics and policy punctuations. Analyzing the Court’s rulings from 1995 to 2018, this study reveals an agenda structure mostly aligning with the latter expectation. By examining the dynamics of policy attention, this paper contributes to our understanding of judicial review strategies beyond traditional preference and incentive-based models. The findings suggest that Israel’s High Court of Justice usually operates more as a legal problem solver than an activist institution, offering new insights into its role in Israeli politics and policymaking.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2025.1533270/fulljudicialization of politicsjudicial activismpolicy attentionpolicy punctuationsIsrael’s high court of justice
spellingShingle Maoz Rosenthal
Assaf Meydani
The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justice
Frontiers in Political Science
judicialization of politics
judicial activism
policy attention
policy punctuations
Israel’s high court of justice
title The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justice
title_full The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justice
title_fullStr The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justice
title_full_unstemmed The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justice
title_short The agenda premises of the judicialization of politics: policy attention in Israel’s high court of justice
title_sort agenda premises of the judicialization of politics policy attention in israel s high court of justice
topic judicialization of politics
judicial activism
policy attention
policy punctuations
Israel’s high court of justice
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2025.1533270/full
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