Greece: A Procedural Defence of Democracy against the Golden Dawn. (1st June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Malkopoulou, Anthoula
• Is Part Of: European constitutional law review. Volume 17:Number 2(2021)
• Page Start: 177
• Page End: 201
• Publication Date: 2021-06-01
• Subjects: Constitutional law -- European Union countries -- Periodicals; 342.4
• DOI: 10.1017/S1574019621000146
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1574-0196

Abstract

Abstract : Greece not a militant democracy – Constitution rejects party bans – Challenge posed by neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn – Preference for a procedural approach – Not as passive as previously thought – Proactive use of regular law – Golden Dawn charged for being a criminal organisation disguised as a political party – Questions about the political timing of the trial – Importance of judiciary independence – Why not a terrorist organization – Suspension of party funding and other restrictions against Golden Dawn – Actions by state institutions as opposed to local and civil society – How to distinguish between procedural- and militant-democratic initiatives – Political rights of convicted party leaders – Benefits and risks of procedural model