Populist governments, judicial independence, and public trust in the courts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6289569 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pedro C Magalhães (0000-0001-8934-4552, University of Lisbon, corresponding author), Nuno Garoupa (0000-0001-6792-0918, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 2748-2774 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of European Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-1763 • E-ISSN: 1466-4429 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13501763.2023.2235386 |
| OpenAlex | W4384155626 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 61 |
Can governments make courts politically compliant without undermining public confidence in the judicial system? Many studies show a positive relationship between judicial independence and citizens’ trust in courts. However, most of them have shown static cross-sectional correlations rather than actual effects of court curbing on trust. Factors such as citizens’ level of education and political preferences may also play a role in moderating reactions to court curbing. We analyse how assaults on judicial independence by populist governments in Turkey, Hungary, and Poland affected judicial trust, using a difference-in-differences approach to Eurobarometer data. While we find evidence that court curbing has an adverse effect on judicial trust, this effect is much clearer among citizens who are ideologically distant from their governments. These findings coincide with experimental evidence indicating how citizens tolerate democratic backsliding, suggesting that, for many, trust in the judicial system can subsist even when courts are made politically subservient
Business · Democracy · Economic policy · Economics · Eurobarometer · European union · Judicial activism · Judicial Independence · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public trust · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Jury Decision Making Processes · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems
Trust in Legal Discourse
Populist constitutional backsliding and judicial independence
Can domestic courts erode confidence in international law? Evidence from Hungary
The Leaner, Meaner State—And What It Means for Society
Framing the Judiciary
Trusting the Courts
Governing Without Judges.” Executive Ambitions and Judicial Resistance in Italy
Legislative populism, ideological alignment, and human freedom
Citizens’ trust in constitutional courts
Populists before power
The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice
Synthetic Difference-in-Differences
Illiberalism Within
Fast and wild
Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods
Constitutional Crisis in the European Constitutional Area
Understanding Hungary’s Constitutional Revolution
Recent Attacks on Judicial Independence
Law and Illiberalism
Populism and the Rule of Law
Backsliding in judicial reforms
Constitutional courts and citizens’ perceptions of judicial systems in Europe
From activism to resilience
(De-)judicialization of politics in the era of populism
Through selective activism towards greater resilience
Legitimacy and crime
Why do People Comply with the Law
Public trust in the European legal systems
Institutional Trust, Education, and Corruption
The political foundations of judicial independence in the European Union
The making of landmark rulings in the European Union
The essence of democratic backsliding in the European Union
In Europe, Democracy Erodes from the Right
Confidence in the Judiciary
Understanding Public Confidence in American Courts
Democratic Hypocrisy and Out-Group Threat
A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
The Costs of Court Curbing
Kulturkampfin Turkey
How Affective Polarization Undermines Support for Democratic Norms
At the Nexus of Observational and Experimental Research
How Much Should We Trust Estimates from Multiplicative Interaction Models? Simple Tools to Improve Empirical Practice
The varying effect of court-curbing
Hungary’s Illiberal Turn
Public Trust in Latin America's Courts
The partisan nature of support for democratic backsliding
Political participation and procedural utility
Understanding the illiberal turn
Public confidence in the judiciary
Standing up for Democracy? Explaining Citizens’ Support for Democratic Checks and Balances
Ideological Divergence and Public Support for the Supreme Court
Measuring Attitudes toward the United States Supreme Court
Policy, Politics, and Public Attitudes Toward the Supreme Court
The Sources Of Public Confidence In State Courts
An Empirical Analysis of Judicial Transformation in Turkey
Democracy in America? Partisanship, Polarization, and the Robustness of Support for Democracy in the United States
Judging the Judiciary
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |