The foundations of democratic dualism: Why constitutional politics and ordinary politics are different

Partlett, William; Nwokora, Zim

doi:10.1111/1467-8675.12400

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…As populist leaders insulate themselves from political criticism and competition, they must develop sophisticated strategies for 'manufacturing' the continued support of popular majorities. 167 One strategy involves the clever manipulation of the rules or timing of popular votes. 168 Another example is combining technical but important structural amendments that centralise power or limit checking institutions with more popular constitutional guarantees.…”

Section: Majoritarianism: Popular Constitution-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Russia's 2020 Constitutional Amendments: A Comparative Analysis

Partlett¹

2021

Camb. Yearb. Eur. Legal Stud.

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This article will place the 2020 amendments to the Russian Constitution in comparative perspective. Although these amendments were officially justified as strengthening the Russian state in order to tackle emerging new problems, they constitutionalise already-existing legislative trends from the last twenty years. They therefore do little to overcome existing problems of Russian state building. What was the reform process about then? It was intended to project the image of reform by involving the people in a staged process of constitutional change while further entrenching the power of the current political elite. The constitutional reforms therefore demonstrate the symbolic role that constitutional law can play in seeking to ensure the survival of mature or later-stage forms of authoritarian populism. This kind of ‘theatrical constitution-making’ is a broader reminder of how the expressive aspects of constitutional change can be (ab)used by established authoritarian regimes.

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Section: Majoritarianism: Popular Constitution-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%