Populism and Segmentation in Contemporary Europe

Contemporary Europe faces serious problems of democratic backsliding and rule of law violations. This chapter focuses on the nature of these transformations and the role of the European institutional and constitutional context. First is to clarify what characterizes these violations of democracy and rule of law. The chapter highlights forms of democratic and rights-based exclusion. Second is to clarify the relationship between the EU’s character as a segmented political order and violations of democracy and rule of law. A segmented political order is a political entity that is substantively biased and subject to material (capacity), normative, and constitutional constraints, which through largely unintended effects limit the scope for remedial action. That reading of the EU has implications for our understanding of the constitutional implications of populist onslaughts on democracy and rule of law. The chapter therefore examines whether democratic and rule of law backsliding is ultimately a vertical (EU-Member State) or a more horizontal (Member State-Member State) constitutional conflict. From a constitutional perspective, a vertical reading neglects the central role of the Member States in determining the EU’s constitutional nature and direction. Hence, we need to underline the horizontal (Member State-Member State) aspect of the conflict.