Poland's Constitutional Breakdown

Wojciech Sadurski is Challis Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney and Professor at the University of Warsaw Centre for Europe. He has written extensively on the philosophy of law, political philosophy, and comparative constitutional law. His most recent books include Constitutionalism and the Enlargement of Europe (OUP 2012) and quality and Legitimacy (OUP 2008).

• 1: Anti-Constitutional Populist Backsliding2: Before the Breakdown: 1989-20153: Dismantling of Checks and Balances (I): The Remaking of the Constitutional Tribunal4: Dismantling Checks and Balances (II): Judges and Prosecutors5: Undoing the Institutions of the Democratic State6: Assault on Individual Rights7: Why Did It Happen?8: Europe to the Rescue9: Illiberal Democracy or Populist Authoritarianism?

We cannot tell the future, but Sadurskis compelling book underscores that fear is not the same as fatalism, and accurate anatomisation of constitutional breakdown is the surest foundation for contemplating remedial action. He has shown the real value of providing a book-length country case-study in a research field dominated by theoretical and comparative accounts. This landmark work will itself spur further theoretical and comparative enquiry, and will assist in the formulation of practical policy solutions. It is a quick read but will stay with you long after you have reached the last page. Read it. Reflect on it. Respond to it.