Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Ruling by Cheating
  • Cited by 49
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
August 2021
Print publication year:
2021
Online ISBN:
9781108952996
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108952996
Subjects:
Constitutional and Administrative Law, Political Theory, Law, Politics and International Relations, Jurisprudence
Series:
Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law
Information

Book description

There is widespread agreement that democracy today faces unprecedented challenges. Populism has pushed governments in new and surprising constitutional directions. Analysing the constitutional system of illiberal democracies (from Venezuela to Poland) and illiberal phenomena in 'mature democracies' that are justified in the name of 'the will of the people', this book explains that this drift to mild despotism is not authoritarianism, but an abuse of constitutionalism. Illiberal governments claim that they are as democratic and constitutional as any other. They also claim that they are more popular and therefore more genuine because their rule is based on conservative, plebeian and 'patriotic' constitutional and rule of law values rather than the values liberals espouse. However, this book shows that these claims are deeply deceptive - an abuse of constitutionalism and the rule of law, not a different conception of these ideas.

Reviews

'András Sajó is one of Europe’s great defenders of human rights and democracy and one of its finest constitutional scholars. This book is an unparalleled anatomy of illiberal democracy, and its message is vitally important: all democracies, including ones that think they are immune, remain vulnerable to the corruption, institutional capture and authoritarian temptations of the illiberal form. An essential book for 2022.'

Michael Ignatieff - Rector Emeritus Central European University

‘… a fascinating book.’

Rafael Plancarte-Escobar Source: Jindal Global Law Review

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.