Carl Schmitt as a Resource for Democratic Consolidation Studies. The Case of the President’s Impeachment in Lithuania
Carl Schmitt as a Resource for Democratic Consolidation Studies. The Case of the President’s Impeachment in Lithuania
Author(s): Zenonas NorkusSubject(s): Political Philosophy, Contemporary Philosophy, Government/Political systems, Methodology and research technology
Published by: SAGE Publications Ltd
Keywords: Carl Schmitt; democratic consolidation; extremal situation; delegative democracy; impeachment; Rolandas Paksas; Lithuania;
Summary/Abstract: This article is a case study of the recent impeachment of President Paksas of Lithuania, exploring the heuristic value of Carl Schmitt’s extremalist methodology for research on the institutional dimension of democratic consolidation. This methodology considers the performance of the democratic regime under extreme or exceptional conditions as the test of its consolidation. As presidential and semipresidential regimes are predisposed to evolve into authoritarian regimes and delegative democracies, effective use of the impeachment procedure can be considered to be the positive Schmittean test of the state of democratic consolidation for a political system involved in democratic transition.
Journal: East European Politics and Societies
- Issue Year: 22/2008
- Issue No: 04
- Page Range: 784-801
- Page Count: 18
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF