11 October 2024
Drop Bothsideism
Western media are not equipped to handle right-wing populists like Donald Trump, Orbán, or the AfD. Moreover, constitutional theorists who argue that democracy should be purely procedural are joining the populist chorus. In our current age of populism we keep telling ourselves that everyone’s voice is always equally valid – also when based on lies and disinformation. It’s just another “point of view”. What populism has undermined is the right but also the courage to call out those who deliberately spread lies as well as those who in doing so openly use democratic institutions to destroy democracy. Continue reading >>
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13 March 2024
What is Living and What is Dead in the Turkish Parliament?
On January 30th, 2024, the Turkish Parliament officially revoked the mandate of Can Atalay, an opposition MP representing the earthquake-affected city of Hatay. Atalay's incident, from its inception to the recent parliamentary drama, not only exposes the diminished authority of the Constitutional Court but also exemplifies the tacit cooperation among the regime's loyal officers—judges, MPs, or civil servants. In this subtle network, the Parliament occupies a peculiar place with its distinct symbolism, serving as a fig leaf for authoritarian politics. Continue reading >>
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09 November 2023
How the War in Gaza May Upend Israel’s Constitutional Limbo
The war in Gaza serves, this blog post argues, as the final nail in the coffin of Netanyahu's judicial overhaul. The Israeli political climate, relentless opposition and the political fallout after Hamas' surprise attack on Israel and the current war thwarted the judicial overhaul. However, populism is far from overcome. Therefore, the current failed judicial overhaul remains a warning sign for the democracy-seeking public in Israel and should raise demand for constitutional entrenchment of the democratic values of the Israeli state. As the judicial overhaul of 2023 has shown us – democracy is not safe if it hangs by the thread of a simple majority in parliament. Continue reading >>
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19 October 2023
Post-populist Populism
Good news for democracy from Poland? It appears that in the recent general elections, the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS), won most seats but not enough to allow it to form a coalition. Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition has a better chance of forming a coalition, which might put an end to PiS' eight years of rule. This, prima facie, seems like a victory of democracy over populism. While this is certainly true, in this post we wish to flag certain warning signs that this possible democratic rotation is not the end of the struggle for democracy but merely the beginning of this process. This is because even when populists are voted out of office, their legacy - at least partially - persists. Continue reading >>
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04 April 2023
Rahul Gandhi’s Disqualification and the Future of Political Opposition in India
With the general elections scheduled for early next year and several crucial state elections lined up for later this year, the ruling party’s onslaught on their opposition continues in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party (“BJP”) government has left no channel of state power unused in its crusade against opposition parties. The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi – one of the most prominent leaders of the opposition from the India National Congress (“INC”) – is another episode of the degeneration of democracy in India. Continue reading >>
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31 March 2023
The Battle Over the Populist Constitutional Coup in Israel
On the night of March 26, 2023, the battle over the constitutional overhaul planned by Israel’s Netanyahu government reached an apex moment. Much uncertainty lies ahead. What is clear is that a combination of massive protests, pressure by significant groups in Israeli society such as the tech industry and elite military reservists, and American pressure forced Netanyahu to suspend the legislative process. Whether this development will lead to the burial or the reemergence of the constitutional coup is yet to be seen. The road ahead is complicated, as rejection of the coalition’s plan, while seemingly a victory for the democracy movement, may also serve to feed the populist argument about elites. Continue reading >>
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13 February 2023
The Patriots’ Repossession
If we are to rebuild and strengthen Brazilian democracy, the ‘de-Bolsonarization’ of Brasília’s bureaucratic establishment and of security forces throughout the country is an essential step. This might seem like a distant utopia, yet it remains very much needed. After all, dismantling the ‘patriotic’ camps does not mean dismantling their coordination, their shared beliefs and values – a worldview in which they are not only good citizens doing good deeds, but owners with the right to recoup their rightfully owned property through force, omnipotents in their destruction. Continue reading >>
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09 January 2023
Political Terror in the Shade of Bolsonarism
The attacks of Bolsonarist supporters on democracy and the rule of law in Brazil have reached an extent that has never been witnessed in Brazil since the promulgation of the Constitution of 1988. On 8 January 2023, emulating the events of 6 January 2020 in the USA, a mob of 3,000 Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed the buildings of the National Congress, the Federal Supreme Court, and the Presidency of the Republic in Brazil, which are all located in the famous quarter known as the “Three Branches Square”. In a way, the invasion of the US Capitol has been more tragic, given that human lives have been lost. But there is a sense in which the assault in Brazil was more devastating from a symbolic point of view. Continue reading >>
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06 November 2022
Brazilian Presidential Elections Results
On the 30th of October 2022, Brazilian citizens typed the electronic ballots to choose the president for the next four years' term in the runoff between Jair Bolsonaro and Luís Inácio Lula da Silva. The very close results mirrored the radical polarization that has been haunting the country for at least the last ten years. Lula received 50.9% of the valid votes, whereas Bolsonaro was chosen by 49.1% of the electors. At the time of this writing, Bolsonaro has not conceded. Continue reading >>
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13 October 2022
Waiting for Godot
The words of the President of the European Commission during her keynote speech at Princeton University on 22 September have caused quite a stir. Responding to a question about the (then) upcoming elections and the prospect of a right-wing government comprising members related to Putin, Ursula von der Leyen (VDL) surprised everyone with a reference to the well-known situations in Hungary and Poland. Now that the formation of a new Italian government is well underway, this contribution reconsiders the fears fueled by VDL’s statements in light of the past and current context to draw some more general conclusions on the institution’s duty to respect and promote the EU’s founding values. Continue reading >>
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