This paper examines the dynamics of militant democracy through the lens of electoral protest during the2024–2025 Romanian presidential elections, a period marked by unprecedented political polarization and institutional crisis. Following the annulment of the second round of the presidential election in late 2024, Romania experienced a cycle of contention in which mass mobilization unfolded simultaneously from opposing camps. Drawing on the concept of militant democracy, the paper analyzes how democratic actors justified extraordinary defensive measures, while populist right-wing actors framed the same measures as evidence of democratic breakdown and elite conspiracy. The empirical material covers the period from November 2024 to March 2025. It includes public communication by political parties, civil society organizations, and influencers, as well as in-depth interviews with activists and supporters involved in street and online mobilization. This approach allows for a comparative examination of framing strategies, repertoires of action, and interpretations of democracy and legitimacy across opposing camps. Pro-democratic actors framed the protest as a defensive response aimed at safeguarding constitutional order, electoral integrity, and Romania’s pro-European trajectory. Their mobilization emphasized legality, institutional trust, and civic responsibility, often portraying militant democratic measures as regrettable but necessary. In contrast, the alternative actors, centered on populist far-right parties, nationalist networks, and digital influencers, advanced a narrative of stolen elections and of popular sovereignty betrayed, mobilizing large-scale protests through emotionally charged, algorithmically optimized digital content. The paper argues that the Romanian case illustrates a core tension of militant democracy: defensive interventions may stabilize democratic institutions in the short term, yet they also risk fueling counter-mobilization that reframes militancy as authoritarianism. By analyzing electoral protest as both a product and a driver of this tension, the study contributes to broader debates on democratic (de)consolidation, protest politics, and the unintended consequences of militant democratic practices in the European Union.
