Theory of Militant Democracy

The Ethics of Combatting Political

Kirshner Alexander S.

How should pro-democratic forces safeguard representative government from anti-democratic forces? By granting rights of participation to groups that do not share democratic values, democracies may endanger the very rights they have granted; but denying these rights may also undermine democratic values. Alexander Kirshner offers a set of principles for determining when one may reasonably refuse rights of participation, and he defends this theory through real-world examples, ranging from the far-right British Nationalist Party to Turkey's Islamist Welfare Party to America's Democratic Party during Reconstruction.

About the Author

Alexander Kirshner is an assistant professor of political science at Duke University and a senior fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics. He lives in Durham, NC.

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