RESILIENCE STRATEGIES OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS BEFORE AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES: THE BRAZILIAN CASE

There are signs that democracy in Brazil may be at risk. Democratic setbacks do not only occur by taking power through the use of force. They can also occur through the election of populist leaders who promote normative changes which weaken the democratic regime. Constitutional courts are very important agents in stopping these initiatives, but they may put their very existence at risk when doing so. The present essay has the purpose to investigate and propose resilience strategies to protect constitutional orders and constitutional courts from authoritarian attacks. It is divided in three parts. In the first part, I examine the signs of democratic backslides in Brazil. In the second part, I address the institutional conditions that favor or undermine democratic backslides. In the third part, I propose strategies to increase the democratic resilience.