“For My Enemies, The Law“: Abusive Legalism
This paper suggests that one response to growing scrutiny of authoritarian tactics is to turn to sub-constitutional public law, or private law. By using “ordinary“ law in ways that seem consistent with formal and procedural aspects of rule of law, autocrats can nonetheless frustrate the rule of law and consolidate power, while also avoiding drawing...
“Systemic democratic backsliding“: reflections on recent experience in the European Union
The integration processes is dealing with many paradoxes. The topic of my presentation focus on two such paradoxes: 1. The Union has strong mechanisms to guarantee the rule of law vis-à-vis states which are applying for accession, but it loses them after accession. 2. Union law is autonomous on national and international terms – we...
High Courts and Autocratic Consolidation: The Venezuelan Supreme Court under Nicolás Maduro‘s Rule
This article discusses the role of high courts in a consolidating autocracy. The use of high courts to entrench authoritarian rule depends on a series of non-exclusive conditions related to the court system, regime features and political context. A supportive judiciary can help the government compile information on a range of actors and provide a...
The Analysis on the Innate Popular Tendency of Democracy
Populism is a buzzword in recent western politics, throughout history, populism has exerted many influences on the course of democracy, it thrived and prospered through all the endeavors at expanding the concept of citizenship. Equality and freedom are the most fundamental meanings for democracy, with the development of democracy, the expansion in the implications of...