As Good as It Gets - Party Bans and Democratic Militancy

Abstract

Contrasting the constitutional limitations on the freedom to establish political parties in Italy and Germany brings out two quite different conceptions of militant democracy: one is particularistic, retrospective, and provisional – preoccupied with the transition to democracy; the other is universalistic, prospective, and enduring – concerned with the degeneration of democracy. The Portuguese Constitution, true to its eclectic character and multiple influences, steers a seemingly middle course between these polar options.

Keywords

• Comparative Constitutionalism
• Faschismus
• Fascism
• Militant Democracy
• Parteiverbot
• Parteiverbot