Democratic Self-Defense in Times of Autocratization

Abstract

Currently, we are witnessing a “wave” of autocratizations across the globe. For some years, the number of countries that experience a loss of their democratic quality is increasing. In this context, the paper – on which the talk is based – addresses the question what democracies can do to defend themselves. How can democracies stem their weight against these autocratization processes? An intuitive answer can be found in the works on “militant democracies”. The basic idea is that democracies can and should rely on legal means to save democracy against its enemies. These means range from measures against the abuse of parliamentary institutions, the protection of the independence of the judiciary to controversial instruments like banning of political parties and the curtailment of political rights – under certain circumstances. Being initially developed by German émigré scholar Karl Loewenstein in the 1930s, the paper asks what lessons can be drawn from these classic writings. How – and to what extent – can these ideas be translated to today’s challenges?

About Johannes Gerschewski

Johannes Gerschewski is a research fellow at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and the Academic Coordinator of the Theory Network at the Cluster of Excellence "Contestation of the Liberal Script". He is interested in comparative authoritarianism, democratic and autocratic theory, and legitimacy of political orders