Parties’ handling and prevention of political harassment and violence

Abstract

Intimidation, harassment and violence in politics have dire consequences for political representation and democratic integrity across the world (see e.g. Krook 2020; Bjarnegård & Zetterberg 2023a). Hence, it is urgent to make politics safe. Political parties are central for political recruitment, socialization and participation. Therefore, parties are also central for adressing the challenge of intimidation, harassment and violence in politics to ensure that both activists, candidates and elected representatives are not inhibited from political activism, from campaigning and from fulfilling their representative duties (Håkansson 2023; Kosiara-Pedersen 2025). In this light, this panel asks what parties as organizations and in legislatures are doing to prevent and effectively address various forms of harassment, intimidation and violence in politics.

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