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Serjeant at the Bar | South Africa at a crossroads at 30: Populism vs constitutionalism

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Forces that seek to undermine the Constitution are growing, argues the writer. (Gallo Images/Nicolene Olckers)
Forces that seek to undermine the Constitution are growing, argues the writer. (Gallo Images/Nicolene Olckers)

The weakness of key institutions that were designed to promote the Constitution and its vision after three decades of democracy constitutes a growing threat, argues Serjeant at the Bar. 

Thirty years is a short time within which to assess the resilience of a system of constitutional democracy. After all, the US constitution is more than 200 years old and is now under significant threat.  

Donald Trump has a more than plausible chance of reoccupying the White House, and in a second term, he is likely to eviscerate the guardrails of democracy in a similar fashion to Hungary's Viktor Orban.

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