Liberal Democracy Research Articles

Abstract The role of this chapter is to show the specifics of freedom of association in Poland. Therefore, in addition to analysing the normative layer, it includes references to the historical state of the law and the practice of interpreting and operationalising this freedom. Through the presentation of legal provisions, I wish to show the local (“domestic”) specificity and situate it in the broader context of the system of constitutional liberal democracy embodied by the 1997 Constitution currently in force in Poland. The operationalisation of freedom of association will be presented on the basis of selected institutions of three particularly relevant statutes: the Law on Associations, the Act on Political Parties and the Act on Trade Unions.

Abstract This article examines the relationship between Islamism, democracy, and human rights, focusing on the ideological and historical challenges that hinder the democratic trajectories of Islamist movements. Rooted in opposition to Western colonialism and secular authoritarianism, Islamism has historically emphasized resistance over governance, often sidelining pluralism, justice, and civil liberties. Two key ideological barriers – anti-Westernism and anti-secularism – have shaped Islamist approaches to power, fostering authoritarian tendencies and impeding the development of democratic norms and human rights practices. Using Turkey as a central case study, the article traces the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as a model of democratic progress in the early 2000s. During this period, the AKP implemented significant reforms, such as enhancing minority rights and reducing military influence, bolstering Turkey’s democratic credentials. However, the subsequent authoritarian turn of the AKP, marked by crackdowns on press freedom, suppression of opposition, and widespread human rights violations, reveals the persistent influence of ideological constraints on Islamist governance. The study underscores how anti-Western rhetoric has been used to deflect criticism, consolidate power, and justify the erosion of human rights, while anti-secularism has deepened societal polarization and restricted political inclusivity. The article situates Turkish Islamism within the broader political and historical context of the Muslim world, where colonial and authoritarian legacies have shaped Islamist ideologies. It explores how these experiences have created a reactionary political culture that undermines the values of democracy, human rights, and pluralism. The study also addresses broader trends, drawing on empirical data from sources such as Freedom House and press freedom indices, which highlight significant deficits in political freedoms and human rights across many Muslim-majority countries. By analyzing these dynamics, the article emphasizes the importance of transcending historical grievances and ideological barriers to foster governance that prioritizes justice, inclusivity, and civil liberties. This analysis contributes to ongoing discussions about the potential for Islamist movements to engage meaningfully with democratic principles and sustain human rights frameworks in complex political environments.

Abstract This article explores a continuum of environmental participation, from formalized participation in decision-making processes, protected by law, at one end, to protest on the streets, criminalized by law, at the other. Participation across this continuum is partially constituted, but also constrained, by law. We share and extend Brian Wynne’s evocative language of ‘uninvited’ participation to describe the contributions that fall outside institutionalized participation, so that our continuum is composed of ‘invited participation’, ‘uninvited participation’, and ‘forbidden participation’. Focusing especially on those states where liberal democracy is thought to be most secure, this article looks across the interconnections between different categories of environmental participation, highlighting the breadth and intensity of the shrinking of civic space in Europe, and the role of law in that.

ABSTRACT Comparative evidence of how two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states translate artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions into post–New Public Management (post‐NPM) outcomes are scarce because most studies focus on Western democracies. To fill this gap, we examine constitutional, collective choice, and operational rules that shape AI uptake in two contrasting GCC members, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait, and whether they foster citizen centricity, collaborative governance, and public value creation. Anchored in Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development framework, the study integrates a most similar/most different systems design with multiple sources: 62 public documents issued between 2018 and 2025, embedded UAE cases (Smart Dubai and MBZUAI), and 39 interviews with officials conducted from Aug 2024 to May 2025. Dual coding and process tracing connect rule configurations to AI performance. Our cross‐case analysis identifies four mutually reinforcing mechanisms behind divergent trajectories. In the UAE, concentrated authority, credible sanctions, pro‐innovation narratives, and flexible reinvestment rules transform pilots into hundreds of operating services and significant recycled savings. Kuwait's dispersed veto points, exhortative sanctions, cautious discourse, and lapsed AI budgets, by contrast, confine initiatives to pilot mode despite equivalent fiscal resources. These findings refine institutional theory by showing that vertical rule coherence, not wealth, determines AI's public value yield, and temper post‐NPM optimism by revealing that efficiency metrics advance societal goals only when backed by enforceable safeguards. To curb ethics washing and test the transferability of these mechanisms beyond the GCC, future research should track rule diffusion over time, experiment with blended legitimacy‐efficiency scorecards, and investigate how narrative framing shapes citizen consent for data sharing. Related Articles Robles, P. and D. J. Mallinson 2023. “Catching up With AI: Pushing Toward a Cohesive Governance Framework.” Politics & Policy , 51, no. 3: 355–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12529 . Veloso Meireles, A. 2024. “Digital Rights in Perspective: The Evolution of the Debate in the Internet Governance Forum.” Politics & Policy 52, no. 1: 12–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12571 . Zeng, J., T. Stevens, and Y. Chen. 2017. “China's Solution to Global Cyber Governance: Unpacking the Domestic Discourse of ‘Internet Sovereignty.’” Politics & Policy 45 no. 3: 432–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12202 .

ABSTRACT In this paper, I explore how Christian moral teaching properly shapes deliberation and decision‐making in the very interstices of war—the face‐to‐face violence between small units in the context of urban combat. I will focus throughout on one junior officer in one combat setting in one war—on how a young Marine lieutenant aspired to comply with the requirement that, as Nigel Biggar says, love of neighbor must “qualify” the way combatants use military violence. In so doing, I support one of Biggar’s more controversial claims, viz., that Christian love, robustly understood, can “walk the battlefield”—although love need not tread exactly as Biggar recommends. I will thereafter briefly reflect on the role that religious faith properly plays in the professional decisions of officers who serve in the military of a liberal democracy. I conclude by noting some implications of my discussion for how we best think about the relation between religion and war more generally.

In revolutionary France, Maximilien Robespierres fusion of virtue and terror justified massive purges that undermined liberty and public debate. Likewise, in Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessaliness radical nationalism and economic policies (embodied in the 1804 Declaration of Independence) invoked the revolutionary slogan liberty or death while repudiating commerce and white property ownership. Both leaders adopted an absolute approach, which constrained the development of political pluralism. Drawing on primary texts (Robespierres speeches and the Haitian Declaration), this paper uses comparative analysis to examine radicalization in the French and Haitian Revolutions and its effect on realization of the revolutions core goals. The study demonstrates that this ideological extremism (political in France, economic in Haiti) produces social fragmentation, international isolation, and the betrayal of the original goals. This paper argues that revolutionary radicalization created a trap, in which the stated aspirations of liberty and equality were compromised, leading both revolutions away from stable constitutional democracy toward authoritarian outcomes.

This study examines the regulatory deficiencies in Indonesia’s political finance system, particularly the absence of laws governing party income sources. Although existing rules address campaign spending and financial reporting, they lack limits on donations and fail to restrict high-risk, foreign-linked, or opaque contributions. Using a normative legal method supported by comparative, statutory, and conceptual analysis, the research draws on experiences from Thailand and the Philippines to identify best practices for reform. It argues that source-based regulation is essential to uphold constitutional equality and electoral integrity. The proposed reform agenda rests on three pillars: introducing statutory ceilings on donations, prohibiting high-risk and anonymous contributions, and institutionalising public financing tied to democratic performance. The findings show that Indonesia’s weak regulatory framework fosters elite capture, erodes internal party democracy, and diminishes public trust. By integrating these reforms, Indonesia can close legal gaps, strengthen constitutional democracy, and contribute to global discourse on political finance reform.

The Crisis of Liberal Democracy Edited by Martin Conway and Henk te Velde

The Return of Popular Sovereignty: Populism and the Tensions of Constitutional Democracy

The study analyzes the concepts of modern political scientists and economists about the phenomenon of the genesis of modern neo-fascism. One of the aspects of considering the genesis of modern fascism is the problem of liberal transit. Modern globalism and liberalism give rise to new forms of neo-fascism, which acts as a moment and stage of development of liberalism. Neo-fascism and liberalism are organically conditioned and semantically close in the idea of anthropological (racial), and therefore, country inequality. The study traces two contours of the formation and implementation of neo-fascism in the modern West. Internal - these are the crisis processes of liberal democracy, which is increasingly transformed into blatant manipulation of society. The external aspect of neo-fascist tendencies is manifested in the practice of neo-colonialism, the imposition of the will of Western countries on the non-Western world. The author identifies the key factors in the genesis of neo-fascism: the progressive growth of social inequality, the degradation of institutions of political democracy. The study examines the historical prerequisites for fascism that developed in the 1930s in the United States.

Can Bad People be Good Judges? This article begins by contrasting two different historical conceptions of the judge – the pre-modern one, in which the judge did not have to provide reasons for his decision and a virtuous character was the source of legitimacy and the constitutional one, in which judges have to provide reasons for their decisions. The paper then examines the question of whether, on this second model, a bad person can be a good judge. With the aid of hypothetical cases, it provides a discussion of three main arguments that support the conclusion that character is relevant to the justification of judicial decisions in the context of a constitutional democracy.

ABSTRACT Higher-education policy is increasingly politicised across advanced western democracies, one important point of contention being the treatment of immigrant students, who are often portrayed as a ‘burden’ on higher-education systems. A second issue, made salient during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, is students’ ability to make ends meet and the extent to which governments should provide them with financial support. While these issues are gathering scholarly attention, little is known about the demand side at the intersection of the two, namely, under which conditions immigrants are considered deserving of financial aid. We address this gap using data from original survey experiments conducted in six countries. Our main findings are twofold: First, immigrant students are generally evaluated as less deserving of financial aid than native students but can overcome this if they are top performers. Secondly, we find that this penalty for immigrant students is driven disproportionately by right-wing voters.

The Republic of Kosova declared its independence on February 17, 2008. It was a compromise between the right to self-determination and unification with its mother – the Republic of Albania and the geopolitical interests of the partners who contributed to its liberation from Serbian colonialism. In this study, we will shed light on the new political discourse in Kosova. The subject of the treatment is the new political platform promoted by the Vetëvendosje Movement, a force that could be qualified as a progressive left, built on three pillars: national sovereignty, social justice and civic democracy. Kosova is now going through the real process of state formation through what will be described by history as the 3rd Republic. This process requires a deeply progressive political culture, to be crowned without conflicting with the vital interests of the nation, but without harming the geopolitical interests of our Western partners. What unites Albanians with the Perednim, in this case specifically Kosova as part of the corpus of Albanian civilization, is the capacity for self-criticism and self-correction. In this plan, we conclude that the future of Albanians will not be determined only by external circumstances, but also by their ability to produce a sustainable, just and authentic governance model. Vetëvendosje has opened a path; the challenge is whether it can keep it open and turn it into a common path for the entire Albanian nation.

Abstract In this theoretical paper, it is argued that developing students’ curiosity is a crucial way in which higher education can contribute to the preservation and advancement of liberal democracy. This argument is developed through two theoretical frameworks: Perry Zurn’s analysis of the politics of curiosity and Bruno Latour’s understanding of liberal democracy as a process of negotiation between openness and closedness. As part of his description of liberal democracy, Latour maintains that any well-functioning liberal democracy is sustained through the agency of four public actors: the politician, the scientist, the administrator, and the moralist. The last three roles, which should be understood as ideal types, correspond to three forms of curiosity highlighted by Zurn: epistemic, hegemonic, and resistant curiosity. Consequently, the paper posits that higher education institutions can play a pivotal role in the preservation and development of liberal democracy by promoting all three forms of curiosity. By doing so, higher education institutions will support the preservation of the public roles identified by Latour, as each role is shaped and maintained by different forms of curiosity. Finally, the paper invites the reader to critically reflect on what forms of higher education that higher education should promote and nurture in their students.

Abstract The article is a critical-philosophical reflection of some economic–political and technological–political trends triggered by the process of digitalization and enhanced by AI technologies. From the perspective of environmental political philosophy, it points out that the rapid emergence of AI technologies is neither politically nor environmentally neutral. It deepens several contradictions of democratic political and constitutional systems, thereby undermining democratic institutions and processes. This paper understands contemporary constitutional democracies as normative systems of limits aimed at limiting the possibility of abuse of power. However, the economic and political reality of nominally democratic states differs in many ways from normative constitutional documents. Even constitutionally democratic states are thus unable to adequately respond to environmental devastation caused by technological and economic power. Based on the critique of this techno-political constellation, the article introduces the concept of environmental democracy as a normative theory, which seeks to reconcile the concept of constitutional democracy with the knowledge of Earth System Science. From this perspective, the paper critically assesses some phenomena associated with digitalization and the development of AI technologies, which threaten the existing constitutional democracies and practically make their socio-environmental transformation impossible. The concept of environmental democracy assumes the possibility of extending equal access to public functions to equal access to basic life resources as prerequisites of survival for all in the New Climate Regime. It relies on several UN documents and declarations. The article points out that the AI revolution is occurring simultaneously with an unprecedented disruption of the planetary system that is changing the environmental preconditions for the existence of organized human society to an extent that threatens both the survival of existing political systems and civil and human rights, and brings a new perspective on how AI technologies undermine democratic institutions and processes of socio-environmental transformation.

ABSTRACT The rapidly growing interest in police legitimacy necessitates investigation in non-Western contexts with distinct cultural and institutional characteristics. This study investigates relationships among police legitimacy, effectiveness, procedural justice, and public satisfaction within Indonesia's unique policing environment – characterised by centralised authority, high power-distance culture, and historical police-state relationships that challenge Western-derived legitimacy models. Unlike Western democracies emphasising procedural participation, Indonesian society traditionally accepts hierarchical authority and unequal power distribution. This cultural context may fundamentally alter legitimacy evaluations, potentially prioritising effective outcomes over fair processes. The study hypothesised that police effectiveness holds greater significance in Indonesian policing and that public satisfaction mediates legitimacy relationships. Using surveys from citizen-initiated police encounters (N = 1,301) at West Java Regional Police in 2024, structural equation modelling analyzed the data. Results demonstrate that instrumental aspects of police effectiveness were more important than procedural justice in predicting legitimacy, contrasting sharply with Western research emphasising procedural justice supremacy. Public satisfaction did not serve as a mediating variable between legitimacy and its antecedents. Findings incorporate Harkin's, D. (2015. Police legitimacy, ideology and qualitative methods: A critique of procedural justice theory. Criminology and criminal justice, 15 (5), 594–612. doi:10.1177/1748895815580397) approach, adding power-distance and system justification as fundamental legitimacy concepts. Results provide evidence of additional legitimacy antecedents beyond traditional Western frameworks. These findings demonstrate that legitimacy models are context-dependent, with Indonesian citizens prioritising police outcomes over procedural fairness. The study highlights the need for culturally-sensitive approaches to understanding police legitimacy across different societal contexts, contributing uniquely to predominantly Western-focused legitimacy literature.

This article examines the philosophical and practical manifestations of democracy and democratism as socio-political and kratological phenomena that shape state and societal governance. It explores democracy and democratism as interrelated yet distinct categories — democracy as an ideal of social progress and democratism as its practical realization through institutions, processes, and social consciousness. The paper provides an in-depth philosophical interpretation of the term “phenomenon,” referencing classical thinkers such as Kant, Hegel, and Husserl, and applies this notion to the modern understanding of democratic development. The study analyzes the liberal-democratic concept as a dominant paradigm of modern governance and reviews its ideological foundations as developed by Western philosophers including Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Kant, Hegel, Hayek, and Popper. Attention is given to the contradictions of Western liberal democracy in the post-Soviet and global context, as reflected in the works of Uzbek scholars B. Umarov and B.A. Talapov. The article concludes that while democratism as a method and instrument can be adapted or manipulated, the democratic ideal remains immutable as a guiding principle of human freedom, social equality, and just governance. Democracy, therefore, persists as both a philosophical ideal and a practical objective in the moral and political consciousness of humankind. Keywords: Democracy; Democratism; Phenomenology; Liberal democracy; Kratology; Political philosophy; Social justice; State governance; Human freedom; Democratic development.

Extended periods of exclusion from education and the labour market can have a range of ‘scarring’ effects in later life. Consequently, there is international interest in early identification of young people most at risk of exclusion. Using a PRISMA format, this paper reviews an extensive literature on risk factors associated with three conceptualisations of exclusion: ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET); early school leaving (ESL) and high school dropout. It covers sources meeting three conditions: they present original findings on the factors associated with individual young persons becoming educationally excluded; provide evidence that the association is likely to be causal; and are based on data collected in English speaking countries or in European liberal democracies. The paper finds robust evidence for a range of risk factors at different levels. Micro (individual and family) and meso (school level) risk factors must be seen in the macroscopic context affecting young people, including economic circumstances, but also the nature of social institutions relating to the labour market, education and welfare. However, early-warning indicators based on selected risk factors must always be viewed with caution, since predictions of educational exclusion are probabilistic rather than categorical.

ABSTRACT Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) guide many education policies in liberal democracies, yet they can inadvertently expose their beneficiaries to labeling, discrimination, and exclusion. This study examines why and how this happens, to contribute to more equitable policies that eliminate potential harmful implications. It focuses on a 2017 policy plan for Jews of Ethiopian descent, which is part of Israel’s higher education DEI agenda. It analyzes the policy narrative emerging from 16 policy documents and 53 interviews with policymakers and implementers, tracing the policy drivers, mechanisms, and implications, and the way liberal, republican, and ethno-racial citizenship discourses construct them. Findings reveal a ‘diversity policy trap’ where liberal and republican discourses employ social, economic, and civic rationales to promote DEI, while an ethno-racial discourse enables labeling, discrimination, and exclusion. This study advances higher education DEI scholarship by dismantling its complex and multi-dimensional policy dynamic. It offers practical insights that call on higher education systems and institutions to explicitly address ethno-racial dimensions that may reinforce inequality.

ABSTRACT The decline of the Liberal International Order is increasingly acknowledged by observers of international relations. This decline has left liberals struggling to respond to the rise of a more realist “might is right” world order. For liberal value pluralists, the Liberal International Order which emerged from Enlightenment rationalism was inherently flawed. This is because it is a monist doctrine—according to which every question only has one true answer which attempts to impose itself on human affairs. Isaiah Berlin argued that monism was likely to be ruinous for a society, hence, the Romantic reaction to the Enlightenment taught humanity an important lesson—the necessity of preserving an imperfect equilibrium in human affairs. Berlin’s value pluralism can potentially provide liberals with an alternative normative theory of international relations from which it is possible to derive three important principles of foreign policy. These principles include national security, state-to-state relations, and international trade. As liberal democracies are increasingly threatened across the world, the search for a new theoretical framework to safeguard freedom appears to be increasingly relevant.