Dissensus over liberal democracy and diffusion of illiberal ideas: exploring varieties of illiberal formulae across political parties, citizens, and civil society actors

Abstract

Liberal democracy has come increasingly under attack since the late 2000s. Different factors are discussed in political science to explain the global crisis of democracy: the Great Recession of 2008 and the eurozone crisis in the EU, the rise of populism and undemocratic liberalism. New actors have emerged which contest decisive elements of the status quo. In some contexts, the core pillars of liberal democracy have been dismantled. In others, a growing number of political actors stand against liberal guarantees protecting individual rights, minorities – both ethnic and non-demographic (e.g. LGBTQI+) - and independent state institutions, seen as an obstacle to the expression of the volonté générale. Political science attempts to deal with contemporary illiberalism have been mainly addressed to the epicentres of this illiberal earthquake (e.g. Poland and Hungary), or towards the usual suspects close to the far-right milieu. The panel aims to investigate the diffusion of illiberal ideas and the varieties of illiberalism in contemporary democracies, which is not confined exclusively to the realm of party politics but involves also Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Social Movements, operating both at national and supranational levels. In such a context, what explains the mainstreaming of illiberal ideas? Why and how do political parties combine distinct features of their illiberal supply with their ideological core? What networks are at work within civil society in diffusing illiberal issues? Has the media environment become more porous to the diffusion of illiberal claims? What motivates activists, scholars, and public intellectuals to claim that liberalism represents an obstacle to expressing the will of the majority?

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