| Kommentar |
The theory of militant democracy first emerged in late-1930s as an academic reaction to the rise of Nazism from Weimar democracy. Militant democrats not only were concerned with the inability of democracy to protect itself from extremism, but also feared that preemptive suppression of extremism might compromise the core values of democracy such as diversity, freedom of expression and association, and right to political participation. They thus wanted to improve democracy so that it both repels extreme anti-democrats and remains faithful to its normative ideals. Especially since the end of WWII, militant democratic theory has become a practice of several democratic countries, embodied in their constitutional and institutional designs. It proves particularly relevant to contemporary European politics today in the face of the unprecedented plurality of peoples who may not customarily endorse liberal democratic institutions and values.
This class surveys major existing theories of militant democracy and introduces how they are adopted in contemporary democracies, accompanied by discussions of and reflections on the core values of democracy. It aims to deepen students' understanding of democracy by confronting them with the weaknesses of democratic politics and by showing them how lovers of liberty today try to remedy them. |
| Literatur |
Kirshner, Alexander S.: A Theory of Militant Democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014.
Loewenstein, Karl: "Militant Democracy and Fundamental Rights, I" The American Political Science Review, Vol. 31, No. 3 (1937): 417-432.
——: "Militant Democracy and Fundamental Rights, II" The American Political Science Review, Vol. 31, No. 4 (1937): 638-658.
Schmidt, Carl: The Concept of the Political (Expanded Edition). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Thiel, Markus (ed.): The 'Militant Democracy' Principle in Modern Democracies. Farnham: Ashgate, 2009. |
