The Counter-Playbook: Resisting the Populist Assault on Separation of Powers

Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 59, No. 1 (2020)

UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 19-51

65 Pages Posted: 13 Nov 2019 Last revised: 12 Feb 2021

See all articles by Stephen Gardbaum

Stephen Gardbaum

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

This Article first distinguishes "political populist" regimes, like that of Trump's America, from "structural populist" ones, as in Hungary and Poland. It then shows how the major target of structural populism's determined assault on the institutional framework of constitutional democracy has been the separation of powers rather than free and fair elections, political and civil rights, or the rule of law. Since neutralizing all sources of independent and dispersed political power has been the distinctive strategy of structural populism, the Article argues that the defense of constitutional democracy must develop a similar disciplined focus as its enemies, in the form of an anti-concentration principle that makes dismantling separation of powers more difficult to accomplish. This anti-concentration principle has a number of components in practice, addressing the major structural elements of constitutional, institutional, and democratic design, and amounts to a counter-playbook for constitutional democrats on how to increase resistance to, or preemptively thwart, the moves that have proven so successful over the past few years. Of course, relying on constitutional, institutional, and democratic design to render the concentration of political power more difficult to achieve is not a panacea, and can only be part of any solution to the threats posed by authoritarian populism, but it is not irrelevant. In particular, the counter-playbook that is developed and presented in this Article may help to prevent political populist regimes from transitioning into the more dangerous second type, and frustrate or slow down the slightly less determined, ruthless, politically astute, or popular structural populist. Even if the strongest roof cannot withstand a Category 5 hurricane, it is still sensible to build one in the event of a Category 2, 3 or 4.

Keywords: separation of power, populism, constitutional democracy, constitutional design

Suggested Citation

Gardbaum, Stephen, The Counter-Playbook: Resisting the Populist Assault on Separation of Powers (2020). Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 59, No. 1 (2020), UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 19-51, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3485761 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3485761

Stephen Gardbaum (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law ( email )

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