Conceptualising Dissensus over Liberal Democracy

Abstract In recent decades, liberal democracy has emerged as a new line of conflict and political competition, and the EU is no exception to this global trend. The key institutions, principles, and values of liberal democracy are being disputed and eroded, not only by radical right and left populists and anti-system parties but also by mainstream parties on both the left and right of the political spectrum. While some actors challenge the status quo and the rules of the polity (its core institutions), others focus on the practice of liberal democracy, specific policychoices, and the values that these encapsulate. Against this backdrop, this chapter aims to conceptualise dissensus over liberal democracy by proposing a definition and typology designed to shed light on conflicts in the EU polity, at the national and supranational levels, within institutions and between actors in EU member states, as well as between and within EU institutions. The chapter is structured as follows: Section 2 underlines the inherent tensions encapsulated by liberal democracy. Section 3 traces how dissent/dissensus/disagreement have been defined in political theory, EU studies, comparative politics, and International Relations. Section 4 conceptualises dissensus over liberal democracy by contrasting it to other concepts and proposes four ideal types: mild, severe, disruptive and destructive, supported by examples from EU and member states politics.