{"id":73002,"date":"2025-06-17T16:05:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T14:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/?p=73002"},"modified":"2025-06-25T16:44:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T14:44:21","slug":"no-freedom-for-the-enemies-of-freedom-target-conflicts-of-defensive-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/en\/no-freedom-for-the-enemies-of-freedom-target-conflicts-of-defensive-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"No Freedom for the Enemies of Freedom? \u2013 Target Conflicts of Defensive Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Is it legit\u00adimate to restrict political freedoms \u2013 such as freedom of speech or the right to build political parties and to run for elections \u2013 in order to protect national security and to defend liberal democracy against its enemies? This is of course one of the classic contro\u00adversies of political theory and practice, as Ralf F\u00fccks analyzes.<\/h2>\n

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No tolerance toward intolerance<\/h2>\n

Karl Popper, one of the classics of modern liber\u00adalism, called for zero tolerance toward the intol\u00aderant. This gave rise to the concept of a \u201cmilitant democracy,\u201d which can be summed up in the phrase \u201cno freedom for the enemies of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

That democ\u00adracies should restrict political freedom for the enemies of political freedom, was a response to the experience that fascists and commu\u00adnists \u2013 the dedicated enemies of liberal democracy on the right and on the left \u2013 used the consti\u00adtu\u00adtional rights of liberal democracy to attack it. Hitler and his gang made no secret about their cynical approach to democracy: \u201cWe will use its oppor\u00adtu\u00adnities and ultimately abolish it after we succes\u00adfully seized power.\u201d<\/p>\n

AfD-ban would be a sign of democracy\u2019s weakness rather than its strength<\/h2>\n

Today, there is once again a heated debate inside Germany about whether to ban the party \u201cAlter\u00adnative for Germany,\u201d which is at least in part right-wing extremist. I am critical whether this would be the right step \u2013 I argue that banning the party would rather be a sign of weakness of democrats than a sign of strength. And it would be political fodder for populists who are already talking about a \u201csham democracy\u201d in which critical opinions are suppressed by the ruling elites.<\/p>\n

I\u2018m more of an advocate of an Anglo-Saxon kind of liber\u00adalism with its very broad under\u00adstanding of political freedom: The freedom of speech is always being measured by the freedom of those who think differ\u00adently. Those who want to defend freedom of speech must also defend the right to be wrong. That must include opinions that are funda\u00admen\u00adtally opposed to our own convic\u00adtions. To give an example: We should fight with all our might against positions that justify Russia\u2019s war of aggression, but we should not ban them.<\/p>\n

No naivety toward hostile instru\u00adments of power<\/h2>\n

Of course, we should not be naive. We know all too well that the Kremlin and other author\u00adi\u00adtarian powers are waging an infor\u00admation war against Western democ\u00adracies, a constant barrage of disin\u00adfor\u00admation and propa\u00adganda to divide our societies and strengthen the radical fringes.<\/p>\n

It was a right step to revoke Russia Today\u2019s<\/em> television license in Germany and most European countries, at the latest after Russia\u2019s large-scale attack on Ukraine. But here we are speaking about banning a state broad\u00adcaster, i.e. an instrument of state propa\u00adganda for a hostile power \u2013 we are not talking about restricting journalism.<\/p>\n

However, the high value of freedom of expression is not a license to be abused at will. Like other political freedoms, it must be balanced against other legal interests. In Germany, personal Insults, inciting hatred against minorities, antise\u00admitic propa\u00adganda and calling for violence are all punishable offenses. But we should be careful not to increas\u00adingly restrict freedom of expression. The government is not the authority that should decide on the truth of public state\u00adments and the legit\u00adimacy of certain political opinions. That would lead us down the slippery slope of censorship.<\/p>\n

The red line: The call for violence<\/h2>\n

The most important red line we must draw against the enemies of liberal democracy is the call for and the use of violence. If necessary, non-violence must be enforced by the police and the judiciary. Non-violence is the dividing line between civil political conflict and civil war.<\/p>\n

This, of course, applies to the domestic sphere of liberal democ\u00adracies with free and fair elections and guaranteed citizens\u2019 rights. In a dicta\u00adtorship, the use of political violence against the ruling power is a different, more compli\u00adcated issue. Instead of seeking refuge in repression, we should focus primarily on democ\u00adratic education and active counter-infor\u00admation \u2013 and on convincing, effective policies that deprive extremists of their support base.  We must find ways to defend a liberal society using liberal methods.<\/p>\n

No answers yet toward the new challenges brought about by digital media<\/h2>\n

However, the problem is greatly exacer\u00adbated by the radical change in political commu\u00adni\u00adcation brought about by the internet and social media. The digital media have opened the flood\u00adgates to a deluge of disin\u00adfor\u00admation, hatred, and radical propa\u00adganda. The use of AI, bots, fake videos, and manip\u00adu\u00adlated images further amplifies these effects. If we are honest, we have not yet found adequate responses to this. I suspect that we will have no choice but to use the tools of AI ourselves to defend against disin\u00adfor\u00admation and hostile propaganda.<\/p>\n

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Spenden mit Bankeinzug<\/h2>\n

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