Liberal Democracy Research Articles

The Plebs and Irony

The article examines, from the perspective of representation theory, the place of the idea of unrepresentable groups and individuals in contemporary liberal democracies. The author juxtaposes Ernesto Laclaus’ radical theory of populism with Michael Saward’s liberal theory of representative claims. The analysis traces the discursive shift from “demand-side” to “supply-side” representation theory, illustrating how the logic of this shift leads to an “inflation of representation”, where the representation obtained ultimately does not bring fulfilment. The author’s assumption is that the influence of new media creates a paradoxical situation in which the radical heterogeneity of the plebs returns at the level of individual experiences, revealing the internal contradiction of desires and interests of individuals. Although this becomes a source of potential abuse, it also harbours the potential for political subversion, identified in the article as the triumph of plebeian irony.

China as a ‘systemic challenge’ for NATO strategic interests

NATO’s 2022 Strategic Concept views China as a “systemic challenge” to the Alliance. Joint statements regarding China began to appear several years before the adoption of the new Concept on the official NATO agenda in response to increasing pressure from the Trump administration. The military-political, technological and discursive power of the PRC is perceived by the bloc as a threat to their strategic interests. The greater military-political presence of China in the Arctic and in the Middle East and North Africa is regarded by NATO countries as strengthening the hegemonic aspirations of the PRC. Technological dependence on supplies from China harms the Alliance’s operational capabilities and military mobility. NATO has set itself the goal of adapting to strategic competition with China, particularly in the areas of advanced technologies, artificial intelligence and 5G. China’s influence on the media agenda, as well as its ability to promote its own narrative, threatens transatlantic solidarity and the “soft power” of the Alliance countries. Moreover, China is accused of systematically seeking to sow divisions in transatlantic relations and exploit differences between Western countries to its own advantage. China’s efforts to forge a multipolar world order pose a direct challenge to Western liberal democracies and the rules-based international order. European NATO states have begun to regularly encounter the “China factor” when interacting with the United States. However, there remains disagreement over what policies should be pursued toward Beijing. Those who see China as a security threat advocate general policy coordination with the United States. Those who recognize Beijing as a necessary economic partner and participant in global governance insist that Europe pursue independent policies that distance itself from US strategy. All this suggests that practical steps within the Alliance to counter China, especially outside the Euro-Atlantic region, will face resistance from the United States’ European allies.

Liberal statecraft and the problems of world order

Abstract What is the future of the Western-led liberal international order? This paper makes four arguments. First, over the last two centuries, liberal democracies have pioneered a tradition of international order building, the essential impulse of which has been to create an environment—a sort of cooperative ecosystem—in which liberal states can manage interdependence, protect their values and interests, and aggregate capabilities to defend against threats and challenges to their global position and way of life. Second, liberal democracies have used institutions as tools and mechanisms to respond to dangers and opportunities in the global system, focused on the problems of anarchy, hierarchy, interdependence, liberal openness, and geopolitical vulnerability. Third, the most dramatic forms of liberal order building have occurred after major wars, when liberal democracies found themselves in war and geopolitical competition with rival and threatening illiberal great powers. Finally, liberal internationalism and the liberal project still have a future in that they offer cooperative solutions the core problems of twenty-first century world order.

Threats of Neoliberalism to Western Democracies and the Efficacy of Neoliberal Critiques

Threats of Neoliberalism to Western Democracies and the Efficacy of Neoliberal Critiques

Friends or Foes: Is Unamendability the Answer to Democratic Backsliding?

Unamendability is often viewed as a ‘lock on the door’ that can keep enemies of constitutional democracy out, at least for a time. Unsurprisingly, it has also been invoked as a potential bulwark democratic backsliding. While it may not entirely thwart authoritarian populist takeovers, unamendability – including in the form of basic structure doctrines or constitutional identity review – is said to at least delay them, buy some time for defenders of constitutional democracy to resist, and clearly signal to the outside world (including supranational institutions such as the European Union) that foul play is afoot. This article questions such easy assumptions about the nature and operation of unamendability, both in general and in an authoritarian populist context in particular. It argues, based on the examples of India and Hungary, that unamendability is a tool either too ineffective to be deployed against authoritarian populists in power, even while courts may not have been fully captured, or one they are just as comfortable wielding as their opponents. For example, the Indian Supreme Court’s hitherto celebrated basic structure doctrine has been useless in the face of the court’s refusal to hear or decide key challenges against the government. Additionally, drawing on the Hungarian case, the article shows the dark side of constitutional identity review includes captured courts defending majoritarianism and exclusion in the name of a national identity perceived as under attack. In other words, doctrines of unamendability may quickly and subversively turn into instruments of entrenching the very authoritarian populist projects proponents of such doctrines abhor.

Judicial Collegiality and Tolerance of Difference: Insights from Justice Johan Froneman's Dissents

The retirement of Justice Johan Froneman from the Constitutional Court of South Africa provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on his approach to collegiality and tolerance of difference. Like his predecessors, Justice Froneman navigated a delicate balance between collegiality and dissent. While the diverse backgrounds and experiences of his judicial colleagues enriched the Court's deliberations, Justice Froneman's dissents demonstrated the need for the Court to function as a cohesive unit to resolve judicial differences. His insistence on understanding the proper context of issues, taking account of relevant facts and synthesising opposite viewpoints was particularly pronounced in cases involving potentially divisive moral and ideological questions. Cases that touched on South Africa's contested political history and the proper role of the Court in a constitutional democracy further provided him with the platform to strike a balance between collegiality and dissent, thereby showing that tensions between unity and diversity among judges can be resolved amicably and that doing so would positively contribute to the development of the Court's jurisprudence on tolerance

Danielle Allen's Design for Democracy: A Review Essay

Abstract In Justice by Means of Democracy, author Danielle Allen argues that justice in the fullest sense requires a robust set of democratic institutions and practices. Focused on the United States, the author challenges the idea that justice can be achieved by first maximizing economic output and then redistributing funds and benefits to enhance the welfare of poor and less-well-off people. In the book, Allen suggests a wide range of policy proposals and institutional reforms intended to lead toward participatory constitutional democracy; social practices that enable people to make connections across divides of race, class, and the like; a more inclusive approach to immigration and integration of immigrants into American society; and an economy that empowers ordinary people and strengthens democracy. However, the author's arguments for these proposals suffer from lack of intellectual clarity about principles, institutions, and democratic practices. The argument is also weakened by its avoidance of the hard issues that arise when scholars and others turn from lofty principles to attempts to implement them. Consequently, the book falls far short of achieving its bold ambitions.

STRENGTHENING THE JUSTICE SECTOR IN UKRAINE AND EUROPEAN ASSISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO RUSSIA'S AGGRESSION

This article examines the multifaceted assistance provided by the European Union and the Council of Europe to Ukraine in response to Russian aggression. It delves into the various forms of support, including financial, humanitarian and institutional assistance, with a particular focus on strengthening the judiciary. Through initiatives such as the Council of Europe Action Plan and the establishment of the Register of Damage, international partners are seeking to accelerate Ukraine's recovery and address human rights violations. The authors emphasise the importance of ongoing cooperation to strengthen Ukraine's resilience and democratic progress, advocating for continued support to promote peace and stability in the region. The authors provide a thorough analysis of the legal and regulatory framework and the criteria for European assistance to Ukraine. They emphasise the key role of the justice sector in ensuring good governance, upholding the rule of law and restoring violated rights. The study describes in detail the financial assistance envisaged in the Council of Europe's Action Plan for 2023-2026 entitled "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction". The analysis shows that EU financial assistance has been instrumental in addressing the challenges of sustaining the justice system. Economic support to the justice sector, which is monitored by the Council of Europe, aims, among other things, to strengthen judicial expertise, develop free legal aid institutions, formulate programmatic documents for prison reform, implement pilot projects for prison management recommended by the Council of Europe, and strengthen oversight mechanisms for penitentiary institutions. The authors conclude by stressing the need to promote the development of the justice sector and ensure its financial support as an integral part of effective public administration.

Evolutionary regulatory dynamics in a pluralist and polarized journalism landscape: a case study of the normative framework in Spanish media

Within the European Union, the pluralist polarized journalistic model suggests the presence of journalistic cultures rooted in the connections between political parties and media organizations. In this classical framework, the state exerts significant intervention to influence a media system characterized by lower levels of professionalization. In this regard, Spain serves as a well-examined example of a pluralist polarized Western democracy. Our study entails a systematic review based on two distinct dimensions. Firstly, we scrutinized all legal documents pertaining to media regulation in Spain published between the Spanish transition and the present 1977–2024. From this perspective, we propose a chronological evolution to categorize this extensive collection of norms. Secondly, we complement our primary source assessment with an examination of secondary sources to validate the proposed evolution. Our findings indicate that the Spanish media regulation is evolving due to two pivotal factors: the influence of the European Union and the preservation of the narrative established during the transition to democracy. While contemporary communication grapples with issues such as the rise of artificial intelligence, journalistic instability, algorithmic communication, and fragmented user consumption, these areas are only addressed peripherally within the Spanish media normative context.

Confrontation versus Coexistence: The Dynamics of Australia-China Ideological Relations 1996-2022

ABSTRACT Many Western democracies, including the U.S. Australia, France, Canada, and Lithuania, confront the shared challenge of managing their ideological relationships with China, a powerful authoritarian state. This issue is particularly pressing as they consider ways to uphold or promote freedom amidst the perceived decline of American influence. Western liberal democracies frequently embrace a confrontational approach, demoting peaceful coexistence, which can have dire consequences for international or bilateral relations. Using Australia and China as a case study, this paper critically examines the dynamics and complexities of these competing political and ideological relationships—confrontation and peaceful coexistence—between 1996 and 2022. It examines how Canberra has pursued a strategy of ideological taming towards China, how China has adopted countermeasures against Australian taming, and the interaction between Australian taming and Chinese counter-taming. It describes and explains how the China-Australia relationship has shifted from ideological coexistence towards ideological confrontation since 2016–2017. It also critically examines the issues linked to the confrontational model, discusses conditions for a modus vivendi liberalism and better management of value differences.

The Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent Stigma: A Sociometric and Comparative Approach

ABSTRACT This study applied a sociometric approach to examine the traditional sexual double standard within a sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 1,175; 53.8% females; M age = 14.75). Drawing on script theory and the key concept of social stigma, this study examined associations between self-reported sexual partnerships and three measures of peer preference: (1) received friendship nominations, (2) peer dislike nominations, and (3) perceived popularity. Results from ordinary least squares regressions support the traditional double standard, indicating that girls who report a higher number of self-reported sexual partners receive fewer friendships and more peer dislike nominations than boys reporting similar numbers of sexual partners. Sexual partnerships are positively associated with boys’ and girls’ perceived popularity. Using sociometric measures of peer stigma, we found evidence of a traditional sexual double standard in an adolescent sample from a liberal and gender egalitarian Western democracy, while also pointing to the potential status rewards associated with adolescent sexual behavior.

Refugees, Welfare Organizations and Compulsory Labour in Postwar Austria

During the Second World War, Germany employed 13.5 million men, women and children as forced and slave labourers throughout Europe, including on Austrian territory. Compulsory labour in Austria did not end with the Allied occupation. Despite the aspiration to adopt the values of a liberal democracy, the Austrian federal government enacted a statute on compulsory labour (the Arbeitspflichtgesetz) in 1946. This legislation required everyone residing in the country on a permanent or temporary basis to perform mainly manual work. At the time, one in every five individuals in Austria was displaced from her or his country of origin. They included foreigners who refused to be repatriated and over 200,000 Jews who sought to rebuild their lives far from Europe. Strict quotas in the countries where they wished to settle thwarted their plans. Jewish and non-Jewish refugees found themselves trapped in Austria for months and years, subject to the authority of the occupying military forces and UNRRA. To what extent did the compulsory labour requirement apply to them? An examination of this issue provides an insight into the very gradual transition of Austria from authoritarianism to democracy and the shaping of refugee policies by both the Austrian government and relief organizations.

„Neo-Nazism” in V. Putin's Public Rhetoric: Dynamics of Meaningful Changes (2004 – early 2022)

The article highlights the chronology of the use and dynamics of changes in the meaning of the narrative „neo-Nazism” in the rhetoric, speeches and articles of V. Putin from the time he assumed the position of President of the Russian Federation until the beginning of Russia's Total War against Ukraine (the so-called Special Military Operation). The combination of the definitions „Nazism” and „neo-Nazism” in the artificially created pseudo-historical and pseudo-political ideologeme of the revival of neo-Nazism in Ukraine as a legacy of Nazi collaborators during the Second World War in the modern Ukrainian socio-political environment and state authorities is singled out. Changes in the dynamics of V. Putin's use of the „neo-Nazism” narrative in relation to events in Ukraine were traced and analyzed, depending on the schedule of internal political levers in Kyiv (in particular, the influence of pro-Russian forces on state policy) or in accordance with the geopolitical tactics of the Russian Federation in implementing its strategy of mastering Ukraine and expansion on international arena. The transformation of the negative direction of the narrative „neo-Nazism” in V. Putin's personal rhetoric from accusations of the so-called nazification of certain segments of Ukrainian society to the state authorities of Ukraine has been revealed. It has been singled out that V. Putin purposefully tries to give the narrative of „neo-Nazism” a wider global political scope, redirecting it into discrediting and accusing not only Ukraine or the Baltic countries (in the context of the reproduction of the neo-empire of the USSR in the post-Soviet space), but also the countries of the West (members of the EU and NATO), which allegedly encourage the revival of Nazism and contribute to the strengthening of neo-Nazism in Ukraine at the state level. It is summarized that the propaganda ideology and narrative of „neo-Nazism” started by V. Putin in order to divert attention from the basic neo-fascist principles of his own dictatorial system in Russia, gradually became the core of his concept of a distorted image not only of Ukraine, but also of Western democracies in a visionary strategy of changing the levers of geopolitical influence on the Eurasian space and the destruction of the established world security system.

Prospects for integration and Obstacles to democracy - EU’s role in the Albanian political crisis

Abstract More than three decades after the totalitarian regime collapse, Albania is still categorized as a hybrid democracy despite having made consistent strides toward becoming a liberal democracy. Most local political leaders have remained antagonistic towards liberal democratic principles. In 2019, relations between the European Union (EU) and Albania were at a special stage of development. After a difficult period and tensions in the EU, the European Council decided to postpone the decision to start membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia. Apart from this issue, Albania had other challenges in 2019, including institutional and political conflict, justice reform, the fight against corruption, and the consolidation of democratic structures. This article examines the intricate connections that Albanian political representatives and institutions maintain with foreign organizations and entities. It specifically highlights the role that the EU Delegation played in mediating the political and institutional crises of 2019. Although the external incentives models provide a useful foundation for understanding Albania’s Europeanization process, other factors that may be relevant and encourage the ongoing democratization and rule adoption are indicated by the country’s low membership credibility.

Mandatory age verification for pornography access: Why it can't and won't ‘save the children’

Age verification is currently gaining traction among some western democracies as a means to restrict minors’ access to online pornography. In this article we consider the ramifications of applying age estimation software to this task. We analyse a public dataset of 10,139 facial images processed through a commonly used high-performance convolutional neural network approach and find significant inconsistencies in classification performance. Notably, the software demonstrates racial bias, with highest accuracy for the Caucasian category and lowest accuracy for the African category. It also displays age and gender bias, with lower accuracy for young males compared to young females. In addition to underwhelming technical performance, we argue that the concept of employing automated processes to restrict access to pornography is not only problematic but fundamentally misconceived. The systems being proposed to automate age verification create greater user data privacy risks and divert resourcing that could be spent on strategies that are proven to support healthy sexual development. Ultimately, mandatory age verification systems create barriers to post-pubescent young people seeking information about sex online. Our study concludes that the underlying problem with age verification, therefore, is not only technical but more profoundly political: even if the system can be made to work, it should not be.

Title Legal Aspects in Approaching the National Mobilization System from the Administrative Perspective

Abstract The state of mobilization represents the totality of extraordinary measures determined by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and may be declared simultaneously with the establishment of the state of siege or the declaration of the state of war. According to the regulations in force, upon the appearance or imminence of a serious threat that may affect the sovereignty, independence and unity of the state, the territorial integrity of the country and constitutional democracy, measures can be instituted that target the political, economic, social, administrative, diplomatic, legal and military fields. The complexity of the mobilization is supported by the existence of a national system of mobilization that includes management and execution structures that have attributions in the field of mobilization, structures that benefit from the resources, infrastructure and related relations, allocated according to the law. The resizing of the public administration during the state of demobilization does not only take into account the structural component - the authorities and public institutions with the role of leading and executing the national mobilization system - but also the functional component that calls on the human, material and financial resources that are secured and used in the provided situations.

Non-lethal weapons and the sensory repression of dissent in democracies

This article examines the use of ‘non-lethal’ weapons (NLWs) by liberal democracies to govern dissent in non-war contexts. We argue that NLWs can enable sensorial governance, specifically through sensory repression of dissent. Although accented as non-lethal, NLWs are better conceived of as what we term ‘Weapons of Sensory Repression’ (WSRs). From tear gas to sound cannons to skunk bombs and more, WSRs target the human senses – visual, auditory, olfactory, proprioceptive – and impose debility not death, thus enabling the use of technologies of repression against dissenting collective assemblies at lower threat thresholds than conventional weapons, arguably disincentivizing alternatives to repression. Since law enforcement in liberal democracies is not explicitly linked to political control and such democracies derive legitimacy from responsiveness to public opinion, it is worth highlighting what WSRs make im/possible in this regard. Empirically, WSRs create and confirm subordinate citizenship in liberal democracies for those who are already de facto lacking in certain rights. Emphasizing that liberal democracies renew themselves through challenges involving mass mobilization, we suggest that the employment of these weapons transforms problems of political change into problems of technological crowd management by dehumanizing those that propose alternative logics for dominant economic, nationalist or racial orders.

Justice for the Marginalized in a Constitutional Democracy

Justice for the Marginalized in a Constitutional Democracy

The Model of Appointing Judges of the Constitutional Court in a Constitutional Democracy

The Model of Appointing Judges of the Constitutional Court in a Constitutional Democracy

A Critical Review on Composition of the Constitutional Court of Korea

The composition of the Constitutional Court is a crucial aspect for the realization of constitutionalism. While the Constitutional Court has been praised for its significant contributions to the establishment of constitutional democracy in Korea, there have been criticisms regarding the composition of the Court in both its institutional structure and operational practices. The Constitutional Court of Korea consists of nine justices. Although these nine justices are formally appointed by the President of Korea, three are elected by the National Assembly, and three are designated by the Chief of the Supreme Court. This means that the President, the majority of the National Assembly, and even the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court can each choose three justices on their own without any consent or approval from other branches. This raises concerns about the lack of democratic legitimacy, judicial independence and the expertise of the Constitutional Court. Additionally, there are constitutional issues such as the relatively short term of office, the reappointment, the absence of a specified term for the Chief Justice, and the potential for prolonged vacancies of seats.