Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the Pandemic
In this article we argue that what is called today a ‘democratic backsliding’ or de-consolidation should be analysed, at least in some cases, as a liberal-constitutional backsliding for which the pandemic of Covid-19 adds a new impetus and creates the situation where violation of constitutionality...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Politeja |
| Online Access: | https://journals.akademicka.pl/politeja/article/view/5633 |
| _version_ | 1797262218630266880 |
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| author | Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves Arkadiusz Górnisiewicz Bogdan Szlachta |
| author_facet | Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves Arkadiusz Górnisiewicz Bogdan Szlachta |
| author_sort | Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In this article we argue that what is called today a ‘democratic backsliding’ or de-consolidation should be analysed, at least in some cases, as a liberal-constitutional backsliding for which the pandemic of Covid-19 adds a new impetus and creates the situation where violation of constitutionality of law might become a norm. In our theoretical considerations, we propose to examine this problem from two interconnected perspectives: the tension between the liberal and the democratic components of liberal democracy, often overlooked by the dominant democratic theory, and constitutionalism as the major safeguard of individual rights and liberties that limits democratic sovereignty, or the will of the people expressed by democratic representation. To better understand the nature of the current crisis of liberal-constitutional backsliding, we refer to Carl Schmitt’s concept of ‘the administrative state’ where the dominant legal act is an administrative decree which does not require constitutional legitimacy or even the guarantee that it expresses the will of the majority. Our empirical considerations focus on the case of the liberal-constitutional backsliding in Poland exacerbated by the pandemic, which provides a good illustration of how the tensions within the liberal-democratic model itself can be used to justify democratic sovereignty as the only source of political legitimacy.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:53:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-075f583a228a4629b1a1b02f0a731016 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1733-6716 2391-6737 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:53:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Politeja |
| spelling | doaj.art-075f583a228a4629b1a1b02f0a7310162024-03-14T15:18:04ZengKsiegarnia Akademicka PublishingPoliteja1733-67162391-67372023-12-01205(86)10.12797/Politeja.20.2023.86.17Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the PandemicDorota Pietrzyk-Reeves0Arkadiusz Górnisiewicz1Bogdan Szlachta2Uniwersytet JagiellońskiUniwersytet JagiellońskiUniwersytet Jagielloński In this article we argue that what is called today a ‘democratic backsliding’ or de-consolidation should be analysed, at least in some cases, as a liberal-constitutional backsliding for which the pandemic of Covid-19 adds a new impetus and creates the situation where violation of constitutionality of law might become a norm. In our theoretical considerations, we propose to examine this problem from two interconnected perspectives: the tension between the liberal and the democratic components of liberal democracy, often overlooked by the dominant democratic theory, and constitutionalism as the major safeguard of individual rights and liberties that limits democratic sovereignty, or the will of the people expressed by democratic representation. To better understand the nature of the current crisis of liberal-constitutional backsliding, we refer to Carl Schmitt’s concept of ‘the administrative state’ where the dominant legal act is an administrative decree which does not require constitutional legitimacy or even the guarantee that it expresses the will of the majority. Our empirical considerations focus on the case of the liberal-constitutional backsliding in Poland exacerbated by the pandemic, which provides a good illustration of how the tensions within the liberal-democratic model itself can be used to justify democratic sovereignty as the only source of political legitimacy. https://journals.akademicka.pl/politeja/article/view/5633 |
| spellingShingle | Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves Arkadiusz Górnisiewicz Bogdan Szlachta Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the Pandemic Politeja |
| title | Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the Pandemic |
| title_full | Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the Pandemic |
| title_short | Liberalconstitutional Backsliding of Democracy and the Threat of the Pandemic |
| title_sort | liberalconstitutional backsliding of democracy and the threat of the pandemic |
| url | https://journals.akademicka.pl/politeja/article/view/5633 |
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