The Theory of Militant Democracy and its Legal History. A Critical Analysis

Syed Raza Shah Gilani1, Shehla Zahoor2 & Hidayat Ur Rehman3

Abstract
The present study explores the paradoxes of ‘militant democracy’. It is a
reaction to a constitutional history in particular: the fragility of the Weimar
Republic before the war and its destruction by a totalitarian movement. In today‟s
world, this is not a new phenomenon: legal and political history have witnessed
many occasions when this concept was adopted to protect the State‟s existence. As
it is an interpretive instrument hence, many states responded with tough new antiterrorism laws with little regard for the rights and the liberties of the people and
justified their actions. Now, this article will try to reveal the damage done by these
anti-terrorism laws to Human Rights in general and freedom of expression Article
10 of the European Convention of Human Rights in particular.

Keywords: Militant Democracy, Paradoxes of Tolerance, Extremism, AntiTerrorism laws.