A Theory of Militant Democracy: The Ethics of Combatting Political Extremism

Description

How should pro-democratic forces safeguard representative government from anti-democratic forces? By granting rights of participation to groups that do not share democratic values, democracies may endanger the very rights they have granted; but denying these rights may also undermine democratic values. Alexander Kirshner offers a set of principles for determining when one may reasonably refuse rights of participation, and he defends this theory through real-world examples, ranging from the far-right British Nationalist Party to Turkey’s Islamist Welfare Party to America’s Democratic Party during Reconstruction. Contents Acknowledgments One. Introduction Two. The Self-Limiting Theory of Militant Democracy Three. Political Regulation in Defense of Democracy Four. Justifying the Exclusion of Antidemocrats Five. On Preventive Intervention Six. Political Exclusion and the Limits of Militant Democracy Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index