Once in power, the first target is typically the judiciary, particularly the constitutional court. As Scheppele has noted, "this is a critical step" for authoritarian leaders. By lowering mandatory retirement ages for judges, changing appointment procedures, packing courts with loyalists, and stripping courts of jurisdiction over politically sensitive matters, the executive removes the primary institutional check on its power. In Hungary, Orbán's government raised the retirement age for judges in a way that forced out dozens of experienced jurists, replacing them with party loyalists. In Poland, the PiS government introduced a disciplinary chamber for judges that answered directly to the political branches, effectively neutralizing judicial independence.
: The executive deliberately introduces legal reforms intended to systematically reduce the power of alternative branches of government.
One of the most sophisticated critiques of existing democracy indices emerges from scholars building on Scheppele’s work. A 2022 paper by Rohlfing and Wind—titled "Autocratic Legalism and the Measures of Democracy"—argues that traditional indices like Polity5, Freedom House, and Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) often fail to capture the subtlety of autocratic legalism.
The executive branch systematically takes control of independent institutions like election boards, anti-corruption agencies, and the media regulator.
In this major synthetic article, Scheppele traced how the rule of law has developed as a set of governing practices across comparative law and policy debates. She argued that the policy conversation has tended to depoliticize law altogether, making it possible for aspirational autocrats to game the system. However, she also identified a hopeful trajectory: the rule of law is now beginning a new life through a movement to deparochialize law and re-embed it in transnational norms. autocratic legalism kim lane scheppele upd
Autocratic Legalism: How Legalistic Autocrats Use Law to Dismantle Democracy (Updated 2026) | Published June 4, 2026
In her analysis, Scheppele describes Hungary as a "rogue" state that holds the European Union’s agenda hostage. The strategy made it difficult for the EU to intervene because, from a purely formal legal perspective, the Orbán government had followed the steps. The laws were passed by a democratic majority. The institutions were changed legally. The result, however, was the systematic hollowing out of constitutional democracy.
The process typically begins with a leader who wins a reasonably free and fair election. They use this "will of the people" as a mandate to attack any institution that limits their power.
: Rewrite voting laws to ensure the incumbent can never lose another election. 3. Recent Updates & Emerging Tactics (2024–2026) Once in power, the first target is typically
Scheppele's foundational essay, "Autocratic Legalism," published in the University of Chicago Law Review in 2018, opens with a deceptively simple proposition: "Buried within the general phenomenon of democratic decline is a set of cases in which charismatic new leaders are elected by democratic publics and then use their electoral mandates to dismantle by law the constitutional systems they inherited". These "legalistic autocrats" aim to consolidate power, remain in office indefinitely, and eventually eliminate the ability of democratic publics to hold them accountable or change leaders peacefully.
: Replace career experts with political loyalists to ensure administrative compliance. Dismantle Checks : Systematically weaken independent oversight bodies. Install Loyalists
Before the 2024–2026 update, Hungary had already become the prototype. Orbán’s Fidesz party used a supermajority to pass a new constitution (2011), lowered judicial retirement ages to purge critics, and created an “Judicial Office” controlled by a loyalist. Poland followed a similar script after 2015, with its Constitutional Tribunal rendered powerless and a disciplinary chamber for judges eventually ruled illegal by the CJEU.
Redrawing districts and changing rules to make it nearly impossible for the opposition to win, even if they have more votes. In Hungary, Orbán's government raised the retirement age
Autocratic legalism , a concept refined by Kim Lane Scheppele, describes how democratically elected leaders use legal and constitutional tools to dismantle democratic checks and balances from within. Unlike classic coups, this process is incremental and uses the law itself to hollow out liberal democratic principles. 1. Core Definition
For more, search for Kim Lane Scheppele's academic publications on the University of Chicago and Princeton websites. The University of Chicago Law Review Autocratic Legalism - The University of Chicago Law Review
In the twilight of the 20th century, political scientists largely agreed on a simple, reassuring binary. Democracies had courts, constitutions, and the rule of law. Authoritarian regimes had show trials, secret police, and arbitrary edicts. The path from one to the other was violent and obvious—a coup, a revolution, a tank in the square.