One of the driving principles behind the contemporary populist vision of democracy is to no longer respect legal boundaries and constitutional constraints to the so-called ‘will of the people’.

Through analysis of the contemporary Italian political situation, this policy brief addresses a number of critical constitutional strains caused by populism, including:

Anne Deighton, Emeritus Professor of European International Politics at Oxford, assesses whether referendums are the appropriate tool to resolve complex issues, as with the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, held in 2016. 

This policy brief examines the issues raised by the emergence of huge companies such as Uber in the UK and Didi in China that operate in the so-called ‘sharing economy’. The business model of these companies represents a fundamental realignment of the relations between capital and labour, and raises questions about the liability for public safety, the need to preserve the jobs of traditional ‘offline’ operators, and the unfair use of consumers’ personal data.

In this policy brief, prominent critic of the ruling Law and Justice Party Marcin Matczak presents the crucial events of ‘the Polish constitutional crisis’, and what has been widely described as a backsliding on the part of Poland into authoritarianism. 

Drawing on the scientific findings of behavioural psychology research, the authors find that there is little empirical evidence that traditional theories of deterrence affect future business behaviour, and that a collaborative, positive approach between business and regulators is most effective in improving behaviour along ethical lines. 

A proposal for an alternative approach to ensure the rapid resolution and redress of cases involving the families of infants injured at birth. This policy brief outlines a governance and operating model for the Rapid Resolution and Redress Scheme for serious birth injuries, including a fully costed business process for its delivery.

***SPECIAL OFFER - BUY YOUR COPY FOR ONLY £5!***

The debates that began at St Mary's Church, Putney on 28 October 1647 pioneered the liberal, democratic settlement in England: a written constitution, universal suffrage, freedom of conscience and equality before the law. Four centuries later, the 2016 Brexit referendum raised fundamental questions concerning the constitution of the United Kingdom.

In this policy brief, human rights and criminal lawyer Mikołaj Pietrzak argues that Poland's ruling party is implementing a programme of deep constitutional, social, and political change, including limitations on the role of the judiciary, which poses a threat to the constitutionally enshrined separation of powers in the fledgling democracy.

In this policy brief, constitutional law and human rights expert Gábor Tóth examines the changing face of authoritarianism, warning that this could become known as the century of authoritarianism as a result of the institutional erosion of democracies around the world.