Liberal Democracy From Oxymoron to Celebrated Concept: British and French Discourses of 1968-2001

Abstract

In recent decades, the term "liberal democracy" has become increasingly prevalent in political and academic discourse. However, this widespread usage obscures the historical tension between democracy - understood as the exercise of popular sovereignty - and liberalism's emphasis on constitutional constraints and individual rights. While this contradiction was apparent to earlier political thinkers, the ideological battles of the 20th century led to the fusion of democracy and liberalism into a seemingly self-evident political ideal. To understand this transformation, this article examines the conceptual evolution of "liberal democracy" in Britain and France between 1968 and 2001, focusing on its use in parliamentary debates. It demonstrates how the concept was initially mobilized to counter participatory critiques of democracy in the 1970s, before gaining broader acceptance in the 1980s and culminating in cautious celebration after 1989. By the late 1990s, however, the term became increasingly contested, with both its liberal and democratic components facing scrutiny. Drawing from conceptual history, parliamentary studies, and democratic theory, this article historicizes "liberal democracy" as a constructed and politically charged category rather than a neutral descriptor of political regimes.