Populist constitutionalism

The chapter challenges the widespread view that populism is inherently incompatible with constitutionalism. While authoritarian populism poses indeed a threat to constitutional democracy, democratic populism is compatible with and even beneficial to it. The constitutional core of populism - what we may call populist constitutionalism - is a critique of the prevailing legalistic understanding of liberal constitutionalism and of the processes of depoliticization, anti-majoritarianism and judicial empowerment associated with it. There is a strong connection between populist constitutionalism and those critical strands within constitutional theory, notably popular and political constitutionalism, that challenge constitutional orthodoxy for its lack of democratic responsiveness. While democratic populism clearly endorses this kind of constitutional critique, authoritarian populism tends to deviate from it or even pervert it - which calls, the chapter concludes, for a clearer demarcation between populism and authoritarianism.