Democratic Dilemmas: Why democracies ban political parties

Description

This book examines how democratic communities resolve dilemmas posed by anti-system parties or, more specifically, the question of why democracies take the grave decision to ban political parties. On the one hand, party bans may ‘protect’ democracies, usually from groups deemed to undermine the democratic system or its core values, territorial integrity or state security. At the same time, banning parties challenges foundational democratic commitments to political pluralism, tolerance and rights to free speech and association. The book probes the deliberative processes, discursive strategies and power politics employed when democratic communities negotiate this dilemma. It examines discourses of securitization and desecuritization, preferences of veto-players, anti-system party orientations to violence, electoral systems and the cordon sanitaire as alternatives to party bans, and incentives for mainstream parties to cooperate, rather than ban, parties to achieve office and policy goals. It does so with reference to case studies of party bans, legalizations and failed ban cases in Spain (Herri Batasuna and successors), the United Kingdom (Sinn Féin and Republican Clubs) and Germany (Socialist Reich Party and National Democratic Party of Germany). Cover Half Title Book Title Copyright Dedication Table of Contents List of figures List of tables List of abbreviations Introduction: pluralism, tolerance and the proscription of political parties The democratic dilemma of party bans Defining ‘anti-system parties’ and ‘party bans’ Hypotheses and case selection Structure of the book and findings 1 Theory and research design: from ‘militant democracy’ to security discourse, institutions and democratic competition The ‘militant democracy’ paradigm Hypothesis formation and theory development Securitization, veto players and political violence Effectiveness of alternatives to proscription Democratic competition and government formation Expected relationships between variables Note 2 Ban regimes and banned parties in Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany Party bans in Spain Party bans in the United Kingdom Party bans in Germany 3 Herri Batasuna and its successors: from ‘terrorist threat’ to carrier of a ‘Copernican shift’ from violence Herri Batasuna and successors Party ban veto players in Spain Proscription of Herri Batasuna, Euskal Herritarrok and Batasuna Legalization of Sortu and Bildu Conclusion Notes 4 Sinn Féin and Republican Clubs: from terrorist pariah to republicanism’s pathway out of violence Sinn Féin and Republican Clubs Ban on Sinn Féin and Republican Clubs in Northern Ireland Legalization of Republican Clubs and Sinn Féin from Westminster Conclusion Notes 5 The Socialist Reich Party and National Democratic Party of Germany: from ‘militant democracy’ to declining anti-system party threats The Socialist Reich Party and the National Democratic Party Party-ban-veto-players The banning of the SRP Failed attempts to ban the National Democratic Party Conclusion Note 6 Electoral systems as an alternative to party bans Electoral systems and the marginalization of small parties Electoral systems in Spain Electoral systems in the United Kingdom Electoral systems in Germany Conclusion 7 Party bans and government formation Party bans, the cordon sanitaire and party-ban-veto-players’ ‘office’ and ‘policy’ goals Complex coalition politics and varying incentives for collaboration with Herri Batasuna and its successors The irrelevance of coalition politics for party bans in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Limited incentives for cooperation with the SRP and NPD and effective policy of ‘Ausgrenzung’ Conclusion Notes Conclusion Conditions under which democracies ban political parties Conditions under which democracies legalize banned parties Conditions under which party ban attempts fail Explaining party bans Appendix 1: main features of electoral systems in Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany Appendix 2: government formation in Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany References Official and archival documents Cabinet minutes Party documents Selected court rulings Newspaper articles Books and articles Index