Autocratic Legalism Kim Lane Scheppele Upd Link -

A deeper, more unsettling layer of Scheppele’s analysis involves the human element. Autocratic legalism requires a surplus of legal talent. It needs lawyers, judges, and bureaucrats willing to draft the oppressive laws and stamp them as valid. Scheppele highlights that many of the legal maneuvers used in Hungary, Poland, and Turkey were executed by highly educated professionals who believed they were serving the state—or who were rewarded for their loyalty.

Scheppele argues that autocrats follow a specific "script" to hollow out liberal democracies from within while maintaining an outward appearance of legality: autocratic legalism kim lane scheppele upd

Kim Lane Scheppele’s theory fundamentally changed how political scientists view modern authoritarianism. It moved the focus from "broken laws" to "weaponized laws." A deeper, more unsettling layer of Scheppele’s analysis