Against Militant Democracy

Abstract

Militant democracy is the prevailing model for defending democracies against anti-democratic political parties. This article evaluates the militant democracy model, classifying the prohibition of political parties as its “hard” version, and the regulation of political parties and their members as its “soft” version. It then compares this with an alternativemodel, termed strategic democracy. Unlike militant democracy, which controls the supply side by abolishing anti-democratic parties, strategic democracy focuses on the demand side. From a rule of law perspective, it will be argued that strategic democracy does not infringe on political rights, provides greater legal certainty, and aligns with the concept of tolerant democracy. Practically speaking, the strategic democracy model is considered more efficient as it leverages electoral systems where political parties, such as the parties against democracy, which in principle have more enemies than supporters, are effectively ostracized.