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  • Studying Law Across Borders

    Swethaa Ballakrishnen reflects on legal professions, global sociolegal scholarship, and the value of comparative inquiry.

  • Can Constitutional Design Save Democracy?

    Tom Ginsburg discusses democratic erosion, constitutional design, and why no democracy is immune to authoritarian threats.

  • Season 2 Trailer: A More Diverse Conversation

    Fabio introduces a new season of PALcast, expanding the project’s conversations across regions, disciplines, and perspectives.

  • Season 1 Finale: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

    Fabio de Sa e Silva and Ahmed Abdelaziz reflect on PALcast’s first season and the conversations that shaped the project.

  • Making Autocratic Legalism a Field

    Kim Lane Scheppele reflects on how autocratic legalism emerged as a central framework for understanding democratic backsliding and resisting authoritarianism.

  • The Political Economy of Autocracy

    Helena Alviar examines populism, markets, gender, and the legal structures that sustain authoritarian power.

  • When Populism Governs

    Bojan Bugaric explores populism, constitutional democracy, and the conditions that allow authoritarian politics to flourish.

  • Authoritarian Legality Before Autocratic Legalism

    Anthony Pereira revisits Latin America’s dictatorships to explain how law became a tool of political repression—and what those experiences reveal about the present.

  • The Fragility of Liberal Legality

    Rick Abel reflects on how liberal legal orders can rapidly become illiberal and what this reveals about the promises and limits of legal professionalism.

  • When Democracy Defends Itself

    Oscar Vilhena Vieira reflects on constitutional courts, institutional resistance, and Brazil’s democratic crossroads.

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Project on Autocratic Legalism

A collaborative research initiative studying how legal tools are used to reconfigure constitutional democracy.

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