Introduction

This chapter outlines the overarching questions and orientations of the entire work, illustrating its alignment with recent anthropological studies that focus on state bureaucracy from within, emphasizing everyday processes and the relational, affective, and moral dimensions. The introduction explains the focus on legal professionals’ perspectives regarding trust, mistrust, ignorance, and imagination within Argentina’s justice system. It then proceeds to outline the complex and controversial landscape of the Argentine judicial system, highlighting key events and ongoing debates. The case of prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s death amid government collusion allegations is first mentioned, revealing broader political struggles and judiciary politicization. Additionally, historical human rights abuses during the dictatorship, transitional justice challenges, and the justice system’s post-dictatorship role are discussed here. Furthermore, structural elements like colonial legacies and legal reforms, highlighting tensions between legal philosophies within the judiciary, are covered. These elements illustrate why empirical work is particularly relevant in this field. Detailed descriptions of the two central research locations follow, along with an explanation of the approach, concluding with an overview of the book’s structure.