Militant Democracy: The Ethics of Combatting Political Extremism
Alex Kirshner, KIE Senior Fellow and Assistant Professor in Duke’s Department of Political Science, will be speaking October 22nd as part of the Monday Seminar Series from 12:00-1:30 in room 101, West Duke Building.
Opponents of self-government can use democratic institutions to undermine democratic regimes. This was an ancient critique of popular government and it continues to drive debates today-for example, concerning the wisdom of banning Salafist parties in Egypt and Tunisia. Kirshner’s talk will examine how democracies can respond to antidemocratic challenges. He will outline a framework for evaluating democracies’ efforts to defend themselves and develop the implications of that framework through an examination of a real-world case.