Scheppele introduces the concept of the to explain how these regimes sustain themselves.

Leaders pack courts, electoral commissions, and oversight bodies with loyalists. They don't abolish these institutions; they make them subservient.

Scheppele emphasizes that autocratic legalism creates a trap for domestic and international actors:

How it works — key mechanisms

Externally, autocratic legalism allows a regime to claim “we are following the law” before the European Court of Justice, the Venice Commission, or international investors. Internally, it demoralizes the opposition by forcing them to fight legal battles on a tilted, exhausted terrain.