The Changing Borders of Democratic Political Space – Past and Future

Abstract: People often tend to equate liberalism as a political ideology with liberal democracy as a system of government. It is true that liberal democracy emerges from the general framework of liberal ideas and values of the Enlightenment. In the process of its development, liberal democracy takes shape as a mechanism of integrating diverse political ideas and mindsets into a pluralist system of government, regulated by a minimal number of common rules. It is an inclusive system, transforming long-term rivals or even enemies into partners. In the early 19th-century, the equilibrium between conservative and liberal movements into a system of limited representative democracy was established. In the late 19th –early 20th century, the workers’ movement developed a strong moderate wing and joined the system of liberal democracy—making the introduction of universal suffrage possible. We live in a transitional epoch of rivalry and political polarization that endangers the very existence of liberal democratic government—for the first time after the collapse of major totalitarian systems of the 20th century. Are there opportunities and instruments to safeguard liberal democracy by reframing it and redefining it in the new circumstances?

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