Scheppele’s close reading of the Hungarian case, published in Constitutional Democracy and the Rule of Law (2015), broke new ground. She showed that autocratic legalism proceeds in :
Scheppele argues that classical authoritarianism often comes with a visible rupture (e.g., a coup, martial law). Autocratic legalism, by contrast, is a slow, legal, and often constitutionally cloaked erosion of democracy. The autocrat claims to be defending the "true" will of the people, the constitution, or the nation against corrupt elites, courts, or external forces.
: Transforming independent media into pro-government echo chambers through funding or "legal" harassment (e.g., libel suits). Entrenchment autocratic legalism kim lane scheppele upd
: Use the mandate to pack courts and capture the legislature. Neutralizing Checks
🗳️ The legal framework of elections is altered to favor the incumbent. This includes gerrymandering, changing campaign finance laws, or creating "media councils" that penalize independent reporting while subsidizing state-friendly outlets. Key Examples from Scheppele’s Research Scheppele’s close reading of the Hungarian case, published
: They often leverage pre-existing "weaknesses" or "conditions" within the theory of liberal democratic constitutionalism to undermine liberalism itself. Targeting the Judiciary
In the classic 20th-century playbook, democracies died in darkness—usually via a sudden, violent military coup. Tanks rolled into the streets, the constitution was suspended, and a dictator took charge. But in the 21st century, the threat has evolved into something far more subtle and, perhaps, more dangerous. The autocrat claims to be defending the "true"
In her landmark 2018 article, Autocratic Legalism (University of Chicago Law Review), Scheppele draws a sharp line between two familiar forms of governance. The first is —the brute-force law of dictatorships, where courts are rubber stamps and legal forms are mere window dressing for raw power. The second is liberal legality —the ideal of the rule of law, where general, public, prospective, and consistent norms bind both citizen and sovereign.
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