Ban the Bans, but Guard the Threshold? “Lessons” from Old to New Democracies

Abstract

Political extremism is most likely a normal pathology for democracy. It exists in multiple guises as a predictable, if often problematic, by-product of openness and pluralism. Party-based extremism is just one of those guises, but as we have suggested throughout this book it is especially challenging to have rejectionist, exclusionary parties exploit liberal processes and institutions for illiberal ends. Appropriately, much scholarly attention has been devoted to documenting and analyzing the historical roots of these parties as well as their recipes for contemporary electoral success. The preceding chapters have not sought to duplicate an already impressive body of research literature; instead, the focus has been on the underresearched topic of reactions and strategic responses. The questions animating this book are derived from the puzzle of how established democratic parties can—and do—react to the presence of putatively nondemocratic variants once they enter into representative assemblies. The classic yet enduring paradox of tolerating the intolerant bedevils mainstream parties and public authorities, and those actors are faced with the strategic dilemma of whether to respond to electorally successful extremism aggressively (e.g., as the militant democracy ostracizing and imposing restrictions) or alternatively to actually allow pariah parties a taste of incumbency (e.g., as the tolerant democracy).

Challenge their beliefs, challenge their ideas, and most of all challenge them to produce solutions. Populists throughout Europe know how to formulate problems, but they rarely have solutions.

—Ruben Brunsveld The Local (Sweden), September 23, 2010¹

Tolerance, by reserving to the losers a measure of power and safety, and by keeping open the possibility of reversing their defeat, preserves their opposition while allowing the victor to implement his programs and policies.

—S. J. Hartenberg “Extremism and Tolerance in Politics” (1967)