Steun voor de rechtsstaat, zolang hij meewerkt

Democracy first, rule of law second Based on a literature review and secondary analysis of quantitative and qualitative opinion research we explore how Dutch citizens view and appreciate the Dutch constitutional democracy. Our exploration shows that in general the Dutch attach great value to representative democracy and constitutional principles such as freedom, equality and minority rights. However, more context-specific opinion data indicate that support for the democratic rule of law is less consentient and deep-rooted than general indicators suggest at first glance. Firstly, people differ considerably in the significance and meaning they attach to the abstract values of democracy and the rule of law, which produces very different trade-offs if values clash. Secondly, individual support for equal rights, a pillar of the rule of law, is conditional on personal preferences and majority opinion. Lastly, people do not always appreciate the supervising powers in the trias politica as essential guarantees against the abuse of executive power, but as obstructions to the decisive realization of majority wishes. This paper shows that the popular legitimacy of democratic rule of law, by which grace it exists, cannot be considered a matter of course. We pose the question whether this is primarily explained by people’s convictions or by a limited grasp of the reasons behind rule of law principles. There is a need for the societal debate to better address these causes.