Authoritarian Legality and Legal Instrumentalism in China

Abstract

With the rise of illiberal democracy, the legality as a traditional component of Western legalism has become increasingly important for authoritarian regimes. This is “authoritarian legality” which has been briefly defined as ‘legal norms of authoritarian states and the process in which those legal norms are implemented.’ Taking China as an example, there is no doubt that tremendous efforts have been made to establish a comprehensive system of positive law in China, which has pragmatically strengthened the ‘legal’ elements as reflected in the rational-legal tradition.

Keywords: authoritarian legality, China, legal instrumentalism