The second panel of the conference will include the following presentations:
Rahel Freiburghaus – Countermajoritarian Institutions and Democratic Backsliding in Comparative Perspective
Gretchen Helmke – When Strong Institutions Undermine Strong Democracies
Philip Manow – Why We Should Not Use V-Dem’s Liberal Democracy Index Any Longer
Freiburg, Helmke, and Manow will focus on institutions and rules — such as courts, bills of rights, and judicial review — that are justified as assuring protection of individuals and minority groups from the “tyranny of the majority.” Papers will explore the normative justifications for these mechanisms, asking whether they are essential to safeguarding rights in modern democracies or whether they undermine the principle of democratic self-rule by detaching decisions from popular control. The speakers will also consider how these institutions can be politicized, with a particular focus on the risks of judicial overreach or the erosion of judicial independence in populist environments.
When are constraints on majorities justifiable from a democratic point of view? Which institutions are, and which, not? And what are the consequences of different types of constraints on majorities for the stability and resilience of democracy?
This conference brings together European and American political scientists, legal scholars, and political theorists in a series of panels to discuss the consequences of majority-constraining institutions on democracy. For a full conference program, see here.
