IPOL Lecture Week 12 2024-2025 (1) PDF
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Universiteit van Amsterdam
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This document is a lecture on liberal democracy and populism from the University of Amsterdam. It covers various aspects, from individual rights and freedoms to the mechanisms of the rule of law. Also explored are the characteristics and consequences of populism, and their relation to liberal democracy.
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No one is above the law IPOL lecture week 12 2 3 Trias Politica 4 Trias Politica 5 6 Politicization of trias politica ¢ Judiciary is drawn into domain of politics by political actors ¢ Judiciary steps too far into the domain of politics throug...
No one is above the law IPOL lecture week 12 2 3 Trias Politica 4 Trias Politica 5 6 Politicization of trias politica ¢ Judiciary is drawn into domain of politics by political actors ¢ Judiciary steps too far into the domain of politics through adjucation 7 8 9 10 Liberal democracy ¢ Democratic rule of law ¢ Electoral (majoritarian) democracy + constitutional democracy A democratic system of government in which individual rights and freedoms are officially recognized and protected, and the exercise of political power is limited by the rule of law 11 12 Liberal democracy ¢ Individual rights and freedoms £ Civil rights - negative rights £ Political rights £ Social rights – positive rights T.H. Marshall 13 Liberal democracy ¢ Rule of law £ Rule of the law rather than rule of men £ Equality before the law “The subordination of arbitrary power and the will of public officials as much as possible to the guidance of laws made and enforced to serve their proper purpose, which is the public good of the community as a whole.” 14 Liberal democracy ¢ Mechanisms of the rule of law £ Constitution Check power through institutional design Checks and balances and/or diffusion of powers £ Independent and impartial judiciary Non-political appointments Long and fixed terms Proper payment 15 16 Liberal democracy ¢ Mechanisms of the rule of law £ Due process Law established in advance No arbitrary arrest, detention Fair, speedy, public trial Innocent until proven guilty No inhumane treatment 17 18 Liberal democracy Illiberal democracy ¢ Combination of democratic striving for ¢ Combines democratic pursuit of popular power of the people with liberal striving power with authoritarian leadership for individual freedom ¢ Characteristics: ¢ Characterize: £ Elections are sufficiently free and fair ¢ Elections are free, fair, competitive £ Personal leadership, strong state, weak ¢ Democratically elected government has the power opposition, emaciated checks and balances ¢ Citizens participate in the political £ Political and civil rights are selectively process in large numbers suppressed ¢ Civil rights are guaranteed £ Potentially hostile to ethnic, cultural, or ¢ Rights of minorities/losers are protected religious minorities ¢ Goes hand in hand with capitalist economy and liberal culture ¢ Often associated with government ¢ Polyarchy (power of many, not all) interference in the economy and authoritarian culture ¢ Flawed Democracies / Electoral Authoritarianism 20 Liberal democracy in decline 21 Liberal democracy in decline 24 Liberal democracy in decline 25 26 Populism ¢ Populism is “an ideology that considers society to be separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups, “the pure people” versus “the corrupt elite”, and which argues that politics should be an expression of the volonté générale (general will) of the people.” Cas Mudde 2004 27 Populism ¢ Radical left-wing populism £ Socialism + populism ¢ Radical right-wing populism £ Authoritarism + nativism + populism 28 29 Populism and liberal democracy “An illiberal response to undemocratic liberalism” ¢ Populism is anti-elitist and anti-pluralist £ Preferences of majority prevail over minority rights ¢ Populism is not necessary anti-’constitutionalist’ £ Constitution should represent values of the people ¢ Populism promotes populair sovreignty £ Parliamentary sovreignty above checks and balances 30 Populism and liberal democracy ¢ Rule of law £ Primacy of politics £ Politicization of judicary £ Penal populism £ Differential laws £ Rejection of international laws Limitations to human rights 31 32 ¢ New Citizenship Amendement Act: fasttracks citizenship applications of non-Muslims from Afganistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan ¢ Stiffle protest and criticism from media and science ¢ 9,000 imprissoned under anti-terrorism legislation 33 Populism and liberal democracy ¢ Populism can have positive and negative consequences ¢ Dependent of ideology to which populism is connected ¢ Dependent on whethe populists have majority and are active in consolidated democracy 34 Populism and liberal democracy ¢ It is not populism that is the problem ¢ It is authoritarianism and nativism that are the problem 35
