Power to the People

Reviews / Votes

Tushnet and Bugaric provide a series of case studies to identify when and how populist programs worldwide are inconsistent with constitutionalism and, importantly, when and how they are not. Concluding with a discussion of the possibilities for a deeper, populist democracy, they examine recent challenges to the idea that democracy is a good form of government by exploring possibilities for new, albeit revisable, institutions that can determine and implement a majority's views without always threatening constitutionalism. * Law & Social Inquiry * Defending constitutionalism may seem remote from the everyday experience of most lawyers in this country but if we can't - or won't - defend the rule of law, who will? Power to the People provides the tools to engage in a debate that is likely to define at least the first half of 21st-century constitutionalism. * Max D Winthrop, senior partner at Short Richardson & Forth, Newcastle, Law Society Gazette * Power to the People makes a compelling case for a more nuanced understanding of
the relationship between populism and constitutionalism. The book is a useful corrective
to work (including my own) that treats norm-breaking and constitutional hardball tactics
as inherently problematic for liberal democracy."
-Steven Levitsky, Harvard University This book provides a much-needed and refreshing perspective on populism and its
relation to constitutionalism, avoiding the common mistake of casually dismissing or
demonising populism, and seeking instead to shine a light on the vast array of populist
programmes."
-Michael Wilkinson, London School of Economics and Political Science This book is so far the most promising comparative constitutional attempt to reconcile the
complex relationship between populism and constitutionalism, without generalization."
-Gabor Halmai, European University Institute Disaggregating constitutionalism and populism, this magnificent study leaves behind the
hasty diagnosis and prediction of others, bringing conceptual lucidity and comparative
learning to renewed debate."
-Samuel Moyn, Yale University Power to the People helps readers think about today's constitutional troubles. It has
become commonplace for scholars to blame "populism" for the rise of authoritarian and
ethno-nationalist leaders and parties. But not every effort to empower ordinary citizens
and unsettle entrenched elites is a step toward tyranny. Tushnet and Bugaric provide
us with the tools and case studies to begin understanding the differences between
changes that promote democracy and those that imperil it."
-William E. Forbath, The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law Challenging conventional political and scholarly wisdom, Mark Tushnet and Bojan
Bugaric make a powerful case that populism is the solution to rather than the cause
of contemporary democratic ills. Power to the People details how authoritarians
masquerading as populists are perverting an authentic form of democratic politics,
and that the numerous populist reforms championed by the populist left throughout
the globe are at least if not substantially more democratic than the contemporary
constitutional status quo. Much handwringing on the crisis of constitutional democracy
will need substantial reconsideration in light of this major work."
-Mark Graber, University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law