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

O'Donoghue, A.

doi:10.53386/nilq.v72iad1.935

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

O'Donoghue, A.

Authors

A. O'Donoghue

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