Stronger Democratic Institutions Curb Populism
* European countries with unlimited presidential mandates and power imbalance may help the spread of populism. * Independent constitutional courts and political party regulations help contain the spread of populism. * Oversight institutions should inspect governments’ use of referenda for ordinary decision-making. * To regain legitimacy, the EU should boost citizens’ participation in decision-making bodies. The way in which governance institutions are set up and working might favour or hinder the spread of populism in Europe. A new DEMOS research found that countries with regulations that balance the powers of the state, specify conditions for constitutional revision, and boost citizens’ participation in decision-making create an effective environment against populism. To reach these conclusions, the DEMOS teams from the University of Barcelona, University of Copenhagen, and the Centre for Social Sciences in Budapest analysed academic literature and got first-hand insights into institutional arrangements from experts in 21 European countries. MORE INFORMATION Read more about the research and download the open-access working paper on populism and institutions on the DEMOS website: https://bit.ly/2UNQJOM
Keywords
Populism, governance, policy, powers of government, constitutional, democracy, society, Europe
