Efficient Secrets

Democratic Backsliding: Constitutional Law versus Authoritarian Politics

February 17, 2022 Oxford Constitutional Studies Forum Season 1 Episode 4
Efficient Secrets
Democratic Backsliding: Constitutional Law versus Authoritarian Politics
Show Notes

Where democracies have collapsed, or never existed, constitutions and laws continue to exist and may still provide some protection to citizens. On the other hand, they may be subverted to serve the ends of autocrats. Can constitutional law still be a force for democracy in military regimes? How are constitutional norms and conventions shaped by non-democratic contexts? Do courts respond to public opinion even where the government is no longer elected?