Kim Lane Scheppele

Jan 15, 2025 | contrarian.substack.com | Kim Lane Scheppele

We hear it on playgrounds everywhere. “You did it,” yells one child. “No, YOU did it,” shouts the other. The teacher who intervenes in these blame games generally doesn’t have the time to get to the bottom of the fight. Maybe both kids were wrong. Or only one. The immediate problem is that the kids are fighting so the teacher concentrates on that. The substance cancels itself out like double negatives. Aspirational autocrats these days know how to play that game.

Jan 15, 2025 | flipboard.com | Kim Lane Scheppele |Norman Eisen

6 days agoAs China, Iran, Russia and North Korea lock arms, the U.S. should begin its response preparations. Hal Brands is a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. This …

Jan 15, 2025 | nytimes.com | Kim Lane Scheppele |Norman Eisen

Since Donald Trump's election victory, we have witnessed striking accommodations to his narrow win and mandate, what has been called "anticipatory obedience."Are we sleepwalking into an autocracy? We hope not, and would be glad if the threat does not materialize. But as close observers of people and places where democracy has come under pressure and occasionally buckled, we see creeping autocracy as a distinct and under-discussed possibility.

Dec 23, 2024 | verfassungsblog.de | Kim Lane Scheppele

The Venice Commission’s recent opinions on Poland’s judicial reforms have prioritized formal legality over substantive judicial independence. The Commission thereby effectively legitimizes the judiciary captured under the previous autocratic government. The Commission’s shift contrasts sharply with its own prior critiques and European court rulings, raising concerns that the Commission’s stance now shields autocracy under the guise of legality.

Nov 23, 2024 | tandfonline.com | Kim Lane Scheppele |John Morijn

ABSTRACTSince 2010, the European Union has been challenged by rogue Member States that reject its fundamental values. The European Commission cajoled, expressed concern and occasionally brought infringement actions. Yet autocratisation continued. Then the EU passed three regulations with the 2021–2027 EU budget cycle and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that explicitly permitted the Union to freeze funds to rogue Member States.