Abstract
AbstractThis study examined if and for whom prosecution of politicians for hate speech undermines support for the legal system and democracy. Three research designs were combined to investigate the case of Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who was convicted for hate speech against minorities in 2016. First, an experiment showed that observing a guilty verdict decreased support among ‘assimilationists’ who oppose the multicultural society. This deterioration of support was found among the entire group of assimilationists, regardless of whether they voted for Wilders. Secondly, a quasi-experiment demonstrated that assimilationists who were interviewed after Wilders' conviction indicated less support than those who were interviewed before the verdict and compared to a pre-test. Thirdly, a nine-year panel study suggested that these effects accumulate into long-term discontent. This case therefore demonstrates that hate speech prosecution can damage the democratic system it is intended to defend.
Highlights
The fundaments of liberal democracy include both freedom of speech and the protection of minorities
This study clearly revealed that hate speech prosecution can diminish political support, an important question remains how long this decline lasts
When an anti-immigration politician is prosecuted for hate speech, the political support of assimilationists may be undermined
Summary
The fundaments of liberal democracy include both freedom of speech and the protection of minorities. Some may instead view hate speech trials as politically motivated assaults on democratic rights to free speech and representation Such discontented citizens may for example include those who support the prosecuted politician or sympathize with his or her statements. Hate speech prosecution might alienate part of the population from liberal democracy in general and the legal system in particular This study examined this possibility by looking at the case of Geert Wilders. This study investigated if citizens who reject the accused’s statements (that is, proponents of the multicultural society) reversely raise their political support in response to the legal action This resulted in a comprehensive analysis of the effects of legal prosecution of a politician on support for the legal system and democracy. Wilders was prosecuted based on legislation that dates back to 1934 and that was adjusted following that ratification (Snijders and Shoemaker Wood 2018)
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