A deeper, more unsettling layer of Scheppele’s analysis involves the human element. Autocratic legalism requires a surplus of legal talent. It needs lawyers, judges, and bureaucrats willing to draft the oppressive laws and stamp them as valid. Scheppele highlights that many of the legal maneuvers used in Hungary, Poland, and Turkey were executed by highly educated professionals who believed they were serving the state—or who were rewarded for their loyalty.
The process typically follows a specific "script": Win free and fair elections. autocratic legalism kim lane scheppele upd