Kureshi, Yasser. To Reinforce or Replace: Courts and Democratic Backsliding (2025). Government & Opposition. doi:10.1017/gov.2025.10015.
Courts are often seen as defenders of democracy, but this article shows that empowered judiciaries can also enable democratic backsliding. Kureshi develops a framework distinguishing courts that reinforce political representation from those that replace elected institutions when fighting corruption. Through an in-depth study of Pakistan’s Supreme Court from 2009–2019, the article demonstrates how judicial rhetoric and interventions weakened elected institutions, legitimized anti-political populist narratives, and created opportunities for the military-backed PTI to rise to power. The paper also examines how similar dynamics have unfolded in Brazil, India, and other democracies. Overall, Kureshi argues that when courts adopt a representation-replacement approach, they may unintentionally facilitate populist authoritarianism and democratic erosion.