Memory Laws in Times of (Memory) War: Ukraine’s Militant Democracy Problem

This paper probes the urgency ‘militant democracy’ acquires during a democratic transition against the backdrop of a hybrid conflict. Ukraine’s decommunization laws raise a host of thorny questions about the legitimate defence of democracy in times of political transformation and war. Is restricting political freedoms in order to avoid their abuse a more acceptable solution in the context of ongoing nation-building, regime change and active conflict as compared to consolidated democracies during more ‘normal’ times? Mapping the debate on Ukraine’s most recent memory laws, I highlight hybrid warfare as an emerging horizon for militant democracy research, with important ethical and policy implications. Identifying Ukraine as a complex case of belated transition, I draw the inferences of its post-Maidan truth and justice-seeking policies for the EU’s policy on support to transitional justice.