1st Edition

Militant Democracy Undemocratic Political Parties and Beyond

By Svetlana Tyulkina Copyright 2015
    236 Pages
    by Routledge

    236 Pages
    by Routledge

    The term ‘militant democracy’ was coined by Karl Loewenstein in the 1930s. He argued that attempts to establish democracy in the Weimar Republic failed due to the lack of militancy against subversive movements. The concept of militant democracy was introduced to legal scholarship and constitutional practice so as to provide democracy with legal means to defend itself against the range of possible activities of non-democratic political actors.

    This book offers a broad comparative look at the legal concept of militant democracy. It analyses both theoretical and substantive aspects of this concept, investigating its practice in a number of countries and on a diverse array of issues. Examining cases in Australia, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Israel, India, the USA, and the Council of Europe, Svetlana Tyulkina maps the historical development of militant democracy in constitutional theory and explores its interaction with various traditional and contemporary notions of democracy. The book analyses the possibilities and pitfalls of the concept of militant democracy when applied to protect democracy when it is under threat of harm or destruction by undemocratic actors, and suggests possible solutions and measures to overcome those dangers.

    In its evaluation of the capacity and justification for democracies to apply militant democracy measures, this book will be of great use and interest to students and scholars of public comparative constitutional law, international law, human rights law, and comparative politics.

    Introduction  Part I. Militant Democracy: Foundations   1. Militant Democracy: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives   2. The Concept Of Militant Democracy: Problematic Or Justified?   3. The Concept Of Militant Democracy In The Practice Of Modern States   Part II. Militant Democracy and Undemocratic Political Parties   4. Applying Militant Democracy: Testing the Concept in Practice, Setting Standards, and Identifying Major Challenges   5. Militant Democracy and ‘Undemocratic’ Political Parties in Europe  6. ‘Softer’ Militant Democracy Measures: Alternative Solutions from India and Israel   Part III. Militant Democracy as Applied To Counter-Terrorism  7. The Banning Of Political Parties as a Response to Terrorism In Spain   8. Militant Democracy: A Guide to Australia’s Counter-Terrorism Policies?  Part IV. Militant Democracy and Principle of Secularism   9. ‘Militant Secularism’ In Turkey   10. Militant Democracy and the Principle of Secularism in the Practice of the European Court Of Human Rights   Conclusion

    Biography

    Svetlana Tyulkina is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship: Anti-Terror Laws and the Democratic Challenge Project in the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales, Australia.