Is constitutionalized media freedom only window dressing? Evidence from terrorist attacks

Voigt

2021

Eur J Law Econ

Self Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused millions to die and even more to lose their jobs, it has also prompted more governments to simultaneously declare a state of emergency than ever before enabling us to compare their decisions more directly. States of emergency usually imply the extension of executive powers that diminishes the powers of other branches of government, as well as to the civil liberties of individuals. Here, we analyze the use of emergency provisions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and find that it can be largely explained by drawing on political economy. It does, hence, not constitute an exception. We show that many governments have (mis-)used the pandemic as a pretext to curtail media freedom. We further show that executive decrees are considered as a substitute for states of emergency by many governments.

Section: Governments' Dismal Record Regarding Emergency Declarationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

This time is different?—on the use of emergency measures during the corona pandemic

Voigt

2021

Eur J Law Econ

Self Cite

“…It is also a necessary condition for a pluralist democracy as competing policy measures can be weighed and discussed widely only if the media is free to report on these. However, as noted by a number of studies, these mechanisms also imply that many governments and politicians are reluctant to respect media freedom and are interested in using emergency powers to curtail them (Bjørnskov & Voigt 2020c).…”

Section: Effects On Media Freedommentioning

confidence: 99%

This Time is Different? - On the Use of Emergency Measures During the Corona Pandemic

Voigt

2020

SSRN Journal

Self Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused thousands to die and millions to lose their jobs, it has also prompted more governments to simultaneously to declare a state of emergency than ever before. States of emergency usually imply the extension of executive powers that diminishes the powers of other branches of government, as well as to the civil liberties of individuals. Here, we analyze whether the use of emergency provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic is an exception, and find that this is not the case. In fact, some measures point at long-term dangers to the rule of law and democracy.

“…This restriction takes place either because it is believed that a trade-off between safety and freedom exists or because opportunistic politicians use terrorist attacks as a pretext to introduce such changes (Bjørnskov and Voigt, 2020; Meisels, 2005; Waldron, 2003). One of the civil rights that is often restricted in such contexts is freedom of expression: as of 2014, 22 of the 83 countries sampled in Bjørnskov and Voigt (in press) explicitly allow censorship during states of emergency, and only 40 have unconditional constitutional protection of the freedom of speech and expression. As such, much constitutional and judicial thought relies on an assumption that restricting freedom of expression may be necessary and effective such that a trade-off between security and civil liberties exists.…”

Section: Freedom Of Speech As a Peaceful Outlet Of Dissent Or A Sourc...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Freedom of Expression Cause Less Terrorism?

Eskildsen

2020

Political Studies

Self Cite

It is often assumed that there is a trade-off between civil rights and national safety although the association is theoretically ambiguous. This article therefore explores this association by estimating the effect of degrees of freedom of expression on the risk of terrorist attacks. We first note that different theoretical arguments support both a positive and negative association between freedom of expression and terrorism. We explore this association empirically in a large panel of 162 countries observed between 1970 and 2016. Distinguishing between media freedom and discussion freedom, and separating democracies and autocracies, we find that discussion freedom is unambiguously associated with less terrorism in democracies.