Liberal-democratic self-defense through rights restrictions: the European Court of Human Rights between enabling self-defense and constraining governmental overreach

This paper examines the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) role in mediating governments’ increasing use of fundamental rights restrictions as a form of liberal-democratic self-defense. While courts are designed to prevent both governmental overreach and societal actors’ subversion of democracy, their legitimacy is contested in an era of rising populism and illiberalism. Focusing on the ECtHR’s application of Article 17 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) between 1999 and 2024, we analyze how the court balances its dual role: enabling restrictions on actors threatening democracy while constraining excessive government coercion. We find that while the court has expanded Article 17’s application, it does so selectively, resisting to legitimize governments’ attempts to extend restrictions beyond clear cases of democratic subversion. Our findings highlight the ECtHR’s strategic efforts to safeguard liberal-democratic principles amid growing political pressures.