No tyranny for failing Donald Trump – sad! Law, constitutionalism and tyranny in the twenty-first century

O'Donoghue, A.

Abstract

Donald Trump’s presidency resulted in several accusations of tyrannical intent. The end of his term of office and particularly the rioting of January 6th, 2021 and the denial of the Presidential election results did little to dispel those accusations. Tyranny, while perhaps not fashionable as a basis of analysis, has a long-intertwined relationship with law and constitutionalism. This paper uses Donald Trump’s presidency to consider the relationships between tyranny, tyrannicide, law and constitutionalism. The article considers law and constitutionalism’s role in both preventing and advancing the advent of tyranny and examines their limitations in stopping tyrannical intent. Public contestation is put forward as an equally significant bulwark against the advent of tyranny, but also a space under tremendous space during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Citation

O'Donoghue, A. (2021). No tyranny for failing Donald Trump – sad! Law, constitutionalism and tyranny in the twenty-first century. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 72(AD1), 33-62. https://doi.org/10.53386/nilq.v72iad1.935

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 5, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jul 29, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Jul 13, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 13, 2021
• Journal: Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 0029-3105
• Publisher: School of Law
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 72
• Issue: AD1
• Pages: 33-62
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.53386/nilq.v72iad1.935
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1245713