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Chapter 1 - Populist Constitutionalism – Between Democracy and Authoritarianism

from I - Populisms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2022

By
Bojan Bugarič
Edited by
Martin Krygier ,
Adam Czarnota  and
Wojciech Sadurski
Martin Krygier
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Adam Czarnota
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Wojciech Sadurski
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
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Summary

There is a tendency in current constitutional thinking to reduce populism to a single set of universal elements. These theories juxtapose populism with constitutionalism and argue that populism is by definition antithetical to constitutionalism.1 Populism, according to this view, undermines the very substance of constitutional (liberal) democracy.2 By attacking the core elements of constitutional democracy, such as independent courts, free media, civil rights and fair electoral rules, populism by necessity degenerates into one or another form of anti-liberal and authoritarian order.3

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Chapter
Information
Anti-Constitutional Populism , pp. 27 - 66
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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