Week 6B - Democratic backsliding

Populism

• Frames society as the people vs the elite

• present "the people" as a single, unified group with a shared "general will."

• The elite are depicted as a unified group who are actively working against the interests of ordinary people

• argue that politics should be an absolute expression of the people's will

• often reject traditional checks and balances, independent courts, or bureaucratic procedures, viewing them as roadblocks invented by the elite to stop the people from getting what they want

in populism who claims to represent the people?

• usually one political leader claims to represent the “will of the people”

what is used as a source of legitimacy in populism?

referendums

Democratic backsliding mechanisms

1. undermining judicial independence

2. Legislative procedures = invoking crises

3. Targeting of independent regulatory bodies

4. Vagueness of norms

explain undermining judicial independence

• taking control of the courts to remove legal obstacles

• Forcing Early Retirement = laws can be drafted to force existing Supreme Court judges into retirement to purge the bench

• Muzzling Judges = Passing legislation that allows for the disciplining or jailing of judges who question government legal reforms

• Hijacking Judicial Councils = Altering the statutory structure or selection process of bodies meant to safeguard judicial independence

legislation invoking crises explain

• populists weaponize actual or manufactured emergencies to bypass normal democratic checks and balances

• Governments use crises like national security (e.g., post-9/11 US), public health (e.g., COVID-19), or financial crises to argue that fast, decisive action is required

• Populists use these crises to shift lawmaking power away from parliament by governing through executive orders and utilizing fast-track legislative procedures

targeting independent regulatory authorities explain

• To consolidate control, governments systematically weaken or dismantle independent bodies that act as watchdogs over state power

• Scrapping Prosecutors' Offices = handle sensitive corruption cases involving ruling party officials

• Media Capture

• Unitary Executive Claims = "unitary executive theory," where a leader asserts extraordinary, direct political power over traditionally independent agencies like the Federal Reserve

Unitary executive theory

• is a constitutional law concept asserting that Article II of the U.S. Constitution vests all executive power directly and entirely in the President

• It holds that the President must have absolute, unchecked control over the administration, removal, and supervision of all federal executive officials and agencies

vagueness of norm explain

• writing deliberately vague laws, the government can weaponize the legal system against political opponents or independent actors under the guise of the law

host ideology

• populism itself is defined as a thin centered ideology

• It simply views society as divided into two opposing, homogeneous groups: "the pure people" versus "the corrupt elite"

• argues that politics should merely follow the general will of the people

• It is "thin" because it lacks a comprehensive platform on how to run a state, economy, or foreign policy

• therefore populism must attach itself to a host ideology to create a political program

left wing (host ideology) populism

• socialist or anti-capitalist

• the people are frame as the working class

right wing (host ideology) populism

• nationalism

• people are viewed through national, cultural, or ethnic lenses