DEMOCRACY UNMOORED

An insightful assessment of the illiberal populism that has arisen in numerous countries around the world.

Issacharoff, professor of constitutional law at NYU and author of Fragile Democracies, begins the book “with the simple observation that democracy today is under siege.” Fueling this incipient authoritarianism are economic insecurity, xenophobia, and democracy’s failure to deliver services to the laboring classes. “Strongman” leaders derive their legitimacy from elections in which they “bypass institutionalized forms of politics in favor of direct and frequent communication with the population.” Once elected, they use intralegal mechanisms to wear down and demonize their opponents, thereby undermining the peaceful transfer of power. Central to illiberal populism’s emergence is the weakening of legislative bodies and political parties, with the latter now unable to discipline their members and pursue effective methods of compromise. As a result, corruption is inevitable, involving personal aggrandizement, clientelism, and the erosion of the democratic safeguards that enable a free press, independent courts, administrative competence, and a separation of powers. Populist leaders govern mainly with “a dizzying array of deals and favors.” The author notes Masha Gessen’s concept of the “mafia state,” which is “defined as ‘a specific, clan-like system in which one distributes money and power to all other members.’ ” Issacharoff draws on political theory and constitutional law to describe authoritarian regimes in the U.S. (Trump), Hungary (Orbán), India (Modi), and Turkey (Erdoğan), among other countries. At the core of his argument is the belief that “the key to democratic stability is the strength of core institutions both inside and outside government.” He calls for restoring government capability, revitalizing the legislative branch, reengaging the citizenry, and recentering institutional forms of democratic politics. He ends optimistically by pointing to the resistance of the press, the courts, and the business community—and, regarding the U.S., the historical resilience of its basic institutions.

An incisive diagnosis of the debilitating disease that has infected democracy and subverted its egalitarian promise.