Autocrats do not abolish elections. Instead, they rewrite election laws to ensure they cannot lose. As discussed in this 2025 YouTube lecture by Scheppele , this includes: Redrawing electoral districts. Manipulating the media landscape to stifle opposition. Using state resources to fund campaigns. D. Criminalization of Opposition
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Kim Lane Scheppele autocratic legalism as the process where democratically elected leaders use their electoral mandates to systematically dismantle the constitutional system through legal and constitutional means. Unlike 20th-century autocrats who relied on military coups, modern "legalistic autocrats" weaponize the law to consolidate power, hollowing out liberal democratic values while maintaining a "veneer of legality". Paper Outline: Autocratic Legalism I. Introduction Definition autocratic legalism kim lane scheppele upd
Once the courts are neutralized, the executive branch focuses on securing structural control over the state apparatus.
On its face, "autocratic legalism" sounds like a contradiction. Autocracy implies the whim of a single ruler without legal restraint; legalism implies strict adherence to rules. But Scheppele argues that modern authoritarians have discovered that using the law is far more effective than breaking it. Autocrats do not abolish elections
As explained in Scheppele's research featured on Wikipedia , this method is particularly insidious because it makes it difficult for international observers or internal critics to cry foul. Every individual step taken by the leader can be defended as a legal exercise of legislative or executive power, even though the cumulative effect is the destruction of the rule of law. Real-World Examples
Scheppele argues that because these leaders follow a "script," their actions are often predictable. Manipulating the media landscape to stifle opposition
Legal and civic countermeasures