“In democracies around the world, elected leaders are challenging legal constraints on their power: Just look at Brazil, India, Israel, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, and Turkey,” Andrew O’Donohue wrote last week. The Trump administration’s attacks on the U.S. judiciary follow this pattern—though, as O’Donohue noted, they have been “unusually swift and severe.”

This edition of Flash Points seeks to place recent White House moves in a global context and examine what can be learned from other democracies that have faced campaigns to undermine judicial limits on executive power.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. Chip Somodevilla/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Judicial Crisis Is Uniquely Dangerous

But other democracies provide a roadmap for courts to prevail over attacks from the executive branch, Andrew O’Donohue writes.

A member of the National Association of Magistrates and District Judges holds a Mexican flag as she takes part in a protest against a judicial reform approved by the Senate in Mexico City on Sept. 11, 2024.Rodrigo Oropeza/AFP via Getty Images

How AMLO Destroyed Mexican Democracy

The former president has concentrated power in his party—and destabilized institutions in the process, Emiliano Polo writes.

A protester wears a mask of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a rally against the Israeli government in Jerusalem on March 19.Amir Levy/Getty Images

Can Israel’s Highest Court Stop Netanyahu?

A showdown is brewing after Bibi moves to fire two top aides, David E. Rosenberg writes.

Newly appointed attorney general Rodolfo Delgado is sworn in during the first plenary session of the Legislative Assembly in San Salvador, on May 2, 2021. STANLEY ESTRADA/AFP via Getty Images

In Central America, Rule of Law Is Under Attack. El Salvador Is the Latest Victim.

El Salvador’s populist president is following the playbook of corrupt elites in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras when it comes to top courts, Will Freeman and Adriana Beltrán write.

Journalists gather at the courtyard of the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi on Oct. 17, 2023.Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

India’s Courts Must Keep Their Autonomy

A recent ruling on campaign finance reflected a judicial independence that will be key to checking Modi’s power, FP’s Sumit Ganguly writes.