Building Democratic Resilience: Protecting the Public Sphere From Violent Extremism

Abstract

This paper focuses on the challenges violent extremism poses to the functioning of the public sphere—a critical aspect often overlooked in discussions surrounding violent extremism. It proposes a novel framework of democratic resilience to examine and improve the public sphere responses to violent extremism. Combining insights from the normative theory of deliberative democracy with the empirical study of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) initiatives in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the paper lays out the concrete steps democracies can take to protect the public sphere from extremist threats and attacks. While the primary focus of analysis is NSW, the empirical insights have implications for other jurisdictions and countries seeking to counter violent extremism without compromising democratic commitments and principles.