Constitutional Populism: Redefining Legitimacy in the Age of Strongmen Leaders

Abstract

The resurgence of constitutional populism marks a defining feature of 21st-century politics, where strongmen leaders across democracies and hybrid regimes are redefining the meaning and source of political legitimacy. This study examines constitutional populism as a global phenomenon manifested in the leadership practices of figures such as Donald Trump in the United States, Narendra Modi in India, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. Each of these leaders invokes “the will of the people” as the supreme constitutional principle, thereby undermining institutional checks, judicial independence, and liberal pluralism. Drawing on theories of constitutionalism, populism, and democratic legitimacy, this research explores how populist constitutionalism reconfigures the moral and legal foundations of governance. The study employs a comparative qualitative methodology, analyzing constitutional discourse, institutional transformation, and the rhetoric of legitimacy across selected cases. Findings indicate that constitutional populism operates not as outright authoritarianism but as a transformative mode that weaponized constitutional mechanisms to concentrate power and delegitimize dissent. The paper argues that this populist reinterpretation of constitutional democracy represents a critical challenge to liberal constitutionalism and global governance norms. Finally, it outlines strategies for safeguarding constitutional integrity in the age of populist personalization, emphasizing transnational legal accountability, civic mobilization, and renewed democratic education as counterbalances to illiberal populism.

Keywords: Constitutional Populism; Democratic Legitimacy; Strongmen Politics; Global Comparative Politics; Constitutionalism and Power; Authoritarian Legalism; Populist Governance