Vom „rule of law revival“ zum „rule of law backsliding“: Ein Erklärungsversuch

Targeted attacks on the rule of law-side of constitutional democracy form a core part of the worldwide trend of “democratic backsliding”. To a certain degree, this may be interpreted as a response to the sometimes ill-considered, mechanistic belief in the blessings of rule of law, prevalent in democratization research over the past 20 years. However, authoritarian, populist anti-democrats, who are currently gaining influence even in (still) consolidated democracies, are instrumentalizing this justifiable criticism in order to promote their anti-pluralist ideas of an allegedly homogeneous will of the people and unrestricted majority rule. The only way to counter these dangers of “rule of law backsliding” is an open and constructive debate on the often-times denied tension between rule of law and democracy, seeking a fair balance between these principles within the framework of constitutional democracy.