Autocratic Legalism Kim Lane Scheppele Jun 2026

This creates a "dictatorship of law," where citizens are strangled by regulations that are strictly enforced, but which serve only to protect the regime.

Scheppele observes that the laws used to dismantle democracy in Hungary and Russia were not invented from whole cloth. They were often copied verbatim from the constitutions of mature democracies like the United States, Germany, or Italy. autocratic legalism kim lane scheppele

Scheppele’s work highlights a flaw in the liberal imagination: we assumed that if a state has a constitution and a court, it must be a democracy. Autocratic legalism proves that the existence of legal institutions is not enough; the spirit in which they are operated is what counts. This creates a "dictatorship of law," where citizens

According to Scheppele, autocratic legalism exhibits several distinctive features. First, it involves the creation of a complex, often Byzantine, system of laws and regulations that are difficult to navigate and frequently contradictory. This "legal maze" serves to confuse and disorient citizens, opposition groups, and even international observers, making it challenging to hold the regime accountable for its actions. Scheppele’s work highlights a flaw in the liberal

In the study of comparative constitutionalism, the conventional wisdom for decades was that constitutions and courts serve as bulwarks against tyranny. We assumed that authoritarians tear up constitutions, suspend courts, and rule by decree. However, in the 21st century, a new and more insidious threat has emerged. It is a threat that wears the disguise of the law itself.