On 27 and 28 June 2025, I participated in an international workshop on “Separation of Powers and Judicial Independence” at Humboldt University of Berlin, organized as part of the Humboldt-Princeton collaboration by Anna-Bettina Kaiser, Jan-Werner Müller, Kim Lane Scheppele, and Silvia von Steinsdorff. The workshop provided an inspiring interdisciplinary exchange on current challenges to the separation of powers, judicial independence, and institutional resilience in liberal democracies.
I gave a presentation on “The Role and Limits of Fourth Branch Institutions in Militant Democracy.” The talk explored the growing importance of so-called Fourth Branch Institutions — such as ombudspersons, anti-corruption agencies, electoral commissions, and national human rights institutions — as key actors in defending liberal democracies against authoritarian threats. Central questions included their institutional independence, democratic legitimacy, and their potential to act as early warning systems, residual resistance actors, or normative counterweights to concentrated power.
Many thanks to the organizers and all participants for a thoughtful and stimulating exchange!
