The Separation of Powers from an Evolutionary Perspective: Reconciling Power and Freedom

Arguably no idea has been more central to democratic government than the separation of powers. In essence, we can distinguish two models of separation of powers: the “classic” model emerged in reaction to the centralization of powers typical of absolutist states as an effort to protect individual liberties and. the “social” model which reflects the new paradigm of social rights protection in modern democracies. As the transformation of the liberal state into the social state was accompanied by a shift in the balance between Parliament and Government in favor of the latter, the new crisis of the social democratic state, caused by the evermore pressing sovereignty and political crises, is leading to a new misalignment in powers. Today the idea of identifying two models of the separation of powers, corresponding to the  transformation of constitutionalism, prompts the question: in light of the current transformations are we witnessing the rise of a new model of the separation of powers?