Thema: Autoritarismus & Populismus

Verfassungserosion, demokratischer Rückschritt, verfassungsrechtliche Herausforderungen demokratischer Regierungsführung, populistischer Konstitutionalismus und verfassungsrechtliche Antworten auf Autoritarismus. Umfasst wehrhafte Demokratie, verfassungsrechtliche Selbstverteidigung und verfassungsrechtliche Mechanismen gegen demokratische Erosion.

Of Punks and Nerds

The 1970s and 80s brought about two new social archetypes – the punk and the nerd. While the anti-establishment punk wants to trash the (economic, political, social) system, wants to provoke and get attention for the sake of it, the nerd behaves rather inconspicuously but effectively. He might be socially awkward and overlooked at first, but skilled and smart as he is, he knows the rules of the game and the mechanisms to get ahead with his plans. When looking at different authoritarian leaders in the world today, these two archetypes come to mind. In this blogpost, I want to use these two archetype of authoritarian leaders to analyse their behaviour and sketch the contours of an analytical framework to compare and distinguish between them.

27. September 2022

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The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court’s Reaction to Bolsonaro

It is a relatively uncontroversial opinion that the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has undermined the rule of law and its constitutional institutions. This contribution concentrates on the Brazilian apex courts to show how a mix of resilience in day-to-day work and a few confrontational positions played an important role in safeguarding the autonomy and independence of the judicial branch in Brazil during Jair Bolsonaro’s term.

26. September 2022

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Pandora’s Box and Nostalgia

Especially over the last three years, people have been demonstrating on the streets of Brazilian cities, expressing their support of Jair Bolsonaro and even demanding the return of military rule. „I authorize“ (military intervention) is a now common cry among Bolsonaro’s sympathizers, often read on banners. Some of the demonstrators are more explicit and openly demand „Military intervention with Bolsonaro“. Why is this happening? Why are these citizens willing to give up their citizen rights not only in favour of a military dictatorship, but of a leader who apparently is capable of seducing, yes, hypnotising them in a way that no General-President during the military dictatorship could ever do?

23. September 2022

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The Armed Forces and the Constitution in Brazil

The Armed Forces are back in power in Brazil. This time, differently from 1937 and 1964, it happened through elections. As one of the main supporting groups behind Jair Bolsonaro’s electoral victory in 2018, the military’s role in his government continued to grow. I argue that, firstly, the text addressing the military functions in the Constitution of 1988 repeats the same mistakes made by past Brazilian constitutions; and secondly, that the South American countries’ constitutional framework points out attractive alternative constitutional design options on the topic.

22. September 2022

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Constitutionalism under Bolsonaro

On the eve of a fateful election that will determine whether the last four years have been a bad dream and a footnote in Brazil’s political history, or not, the legacy of Bolsonaro’s regime for constitutional law and constitutionalism is widely and expertly discussed. Despite all his rhetorical machismo, Bolsonaro has not governed as a classical autocrat: he was democratically elected and his subsequent administration always found itself between the rock of a fragmented, yet viscerally opportunistic legislature, and the hard place of a judiciary that - while not always unsympathetic to his program - has been primarily interested in safeguarding its autonomy and its (self-)assumed role as the last word on virtually everything.

21. September 2022

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Right-Wing Populists and the Global Climate Agenda

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The rise of right-wing populist leaders, governments and political parties around the world has impacted environmental policy in general and the climate agenda particularly. In this brief commentary, we aim to contribute to an emerging literature that studies the relation between far-right populist rhetoric and actions on climate change policy. The idea is to analyse whether Jair Bolsonaro brings new tactics to the playbook of autocratic leaders, and if so which types. While political dynamics in Hungary, Poland and the USA have all been studied to establish the links between populist politics and climate inaction, there is still room to broaden the view to countries of the Global South.

21. September 2022

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Bolsonarism at the Ballot Box

If things go badly, the upcoming elections in Brazil may be the last ones for some time to come. Incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro threatens to use the Trump playbook to dispute a possible election loss, counting on the violent support of his highly mobilized followers and parts of the Brazilian military nostalgic for the military dictatorship. His contender, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who initially refused to wear a bullet proof vest, has now taken wear one on his rallies. During his tenure, Bolsonaro has drawn on populist anti-establishment sentiments and authoritarian legacies to develop his own, peculiar brand of illiberal rule known as Bolsonarism. Our symposium discusses Bolsonarism at the ballot box from the perspective of comparative constitutional law.

20. September 2022

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Win or Lose, Chile’s Draft Constitution Heralds a New Era of Climate Constitutionalism

On September 4, Chileans will vote on whether to adopt a new constitution. It is a deeply contested election. Polls show that the yes vote is trailing by roughly 10% points, but with over 15% of voters still undecided, as of last week. The debate over the new text has centered on questions of the balance of powers, the autonomy of indigenous people, and the participation of the private sector in the provision of social security, health, and education. But one of the most innovative features of the text is not getting enough attention domestically – its deep engagement with environmentalism, and with climate change in particular.

31. August 2022

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The Constitution of What?

On 4 September, the Chilean people will vote on whether a draft constitution, the result of the work of a Constitutional Convention, will replace the current constitution, which dates back to Pinochet’s dictatorship. Chile’s constituent process, one might think, will thus soon be over. The future is less clear. The draft can be understood as as an exercise of social self-constitution. Its feasibility, however, seems to depend on accommodating social pluralism with the opposed logic of the realm of politics and its permanent dynamic of generating a unity that speaks with one voice.

24. August 2022

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Extradition to Russia from an EU Member State

On 8 August 2022, a Bulgarian Regional Court, acting as a first instance, allowed the extradition of Alexey Alchin, a Russian national, to Russia upon the request of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office. This controversial decision sparked much debate among Bulgarian civil society because Alchin became known for burning his Russian passport at a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and for maintaining anti-war stances. In the eyes of Bulgarian civil society, the request for his extradition is politically motivated.

18. August 2022

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