Illiberalism on Trial: Ideational Boundaries, Institutional Practices, and Public Diffusion

Contemporary illiberalism is reshaping European democracies by attacking the liberal foundations that constrain political power. Illiberal actors do not openly reject democracy; instead, they target its liberal guarantees—judicial independence, minority rights, and institutional checks—while mobilising democratic rhetoric to legitimise partisan state-building and executive aggrandizement. This contribution frames illiberalism as a reactive project against today’s liberal-democratic principles. Building on the volume Dissensus over Liberal Democracy: Insights from European Judges, it connects judges’ attitudes towards the illiberal challenges confronting liberal democracy with broader tendencies diffused across civil society and European citizenries. In this respect, the contribution aims to problematise the agency of the judiciary as the last bastion against autocratisation, in a context where judicial institutions no longer enjoy high levels of public trust and support, and where confrontational political attacks on the judiciary may themselves become a source of legitimation for illiberal leaders.