Abstract
Constitutional dismemberment is one of the main consequences attached to constitutional amendments that Albert's book analyses. After having analyzed Albert’s definition, the present essay focuses on the practice of constitutional dismemberment via referendum and discusses whether, in times of populism and democratic decay, the constitutional design should provide for specific measures in order to protect the political opposition from the allegiance between the populist leadership and the majority of the population. Building on the existing literature and on a comparative analysis, the essay concludes by highlighting the pros and cons of introducing special protections for political minorities during constitutional referenda to protect democracy against populist deviations, suggesting the need to provide further studies in this field.
Highlights
Constitutional dismemberment is one of the main consequences attached to constitutional amendments that Albert’s book analyses
After having analyzed Albert’s definition, the present essay focuses on the practice of constitutional dismemberment via referendum and discusses whether, in times of populism and democratic decay, the constitutional design should provide for specific measures in order to protect the political opposition from the allegiance between the populist leadership and the majority of the population
Building on the existing literature and on a comparative analysis, the essay concludes by highlighting the pros and cons of introducing special protections for political minorities during constitutional referenda to protect democracy against populist deviations, suggesting the need to provide further studies in this field
Summary
For the scope of this contribution, populism can be defined as an ideology opposing the pure people against corrupted elite,[15] with a specific communication style[16] and a strategy for gaining and keeping the power.[17] In this strategy, populist parties exploit the promise, both right-wing and left-wing populism present with messianic tones and with a salvific attitude, to ensure the respect of the people’s real will for obtaining huge parliamentary majorities, allowing them to monopolize the agenda-setting and the law-making process without needing to bargain with opposition parties.
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