Populism and Antitrust: The Illiberal Influence of Populist Government on the Competition Law System (Global Competition Law and Economics Policy)

Competition law is designed to promote a consumer-friendly economy, but for the law to work in practice, competition agencies - and the courts who oversee them - must enforce it effectively and impartially. Today, however, the rule of populist governments is challenging the foundations of competition law in unprecedented ways. In this comprehensive work, Maciej Bernatt analyses these challenges and describes how populist governments have influenced national and regional (EU) competition law systems. Using empirical findings from Poland and Hungary, Bernatt proposes a new theoretical framework that will allow the illiberal influence of populism on competition law systems to be better measured and understood. Populism and Antitrust will be of interest not only to antitrust and constitutional law scholars, but also to those concerned about the future of liberal democracy and free markets. This book analyses the state of competition law in the current crisis of liberal democracies and free markets. It proposes a framework within which the influence of populists' governments on competition law systems can be studied, and thus sheds light on the relationship between democracy, free markets, and competition law. Populism and Antitrust examines the influence of populism on competition law and shows how populism can lead to illiberal changes