In this article, the author, Ramona Coman, Professor in Political Science at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Principal Investigator of the RED-SPINRL Project, argues that in a context of dissensus over liberal democracy, the mainstream political families – historically supporters of liberal democracy – tend to advance different conceptions (minimalist/maximalist) and dimensions (electoral, egalitarian, liberal, deliberative, and participatory democracy) in their attempt to give meaning to their key ideological political concepts. The paper  examines parliamentary debates in the European Parliament (EP), drawing on votes and speeches about the state of the rule of law in three EU member states – Hungary, Poland, and Romania – where liberal democracy has been challenged in different ways over the past decade. While the three cases differ, taken together they reveal some patterns regarding the way in which mainstream political groups in the EP invoke democracy.

The paper can be consulted HERE