The Constitutional Road to Dictatorship: States of Exception and Authoritarianism in Europe, 1900-39core
STEXEU · Horizon Europe grant · 2025-04-01–2030-03-31
EC contribution
Total cost
Beneficiaries
About the data
Source: CORDIS (official EU open data), Horizon Europe. Framework HORIZON · call ERC-2024-STG · scheme HORIZON-ERC · topic ERC-2024-STG. CORDIS record →
Objective
STEXEU investigates the impact of states of exception on democracy in early-twentieth century Europe. In the interwar years, and sometimes before, democratic rule came under strain across the continent. In explaining the rise of dictatorship, historians have generally pointed to forces that challenged the rule of law from without, such as fascism and communism. However, when faced with extraordinary challenges to state authority, the fin-de-siècle liberal legal order contemplated the suspension of constitutional norms through states of exception and emergency powers. During and after the First World War, governments became increasingly dependent on these legal instruments in a context of political instability. Their repeated use resulted in hybrid forms combining democratic and authoritarian features and sometimes (though not necessarily) paved the way to open dictatorship. STEXEU examines how the use of states of exception transformed the mentalities, practices, and interactions of state and non-state actors in charge of maintaining law and order. The project assesses eight national case studies: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Czechoslovakia, France, Britain, and Greece, which followed different trajectories in 1900-39 (some remained democratic, others not). Though it draws some cues from legal studies, STEXEU is above all a history project, which will revolutionise the voluminous juridical literature on states of exception by grounding this phenomenon in historical reality through a systematic analysis of primary sources. STEXEU promises to shed new light on the history of democracy and dictatorship, exploring the disregarded constitutional origins of authoritarianism that emerged from the bosom of the liberal regimes themselves. The relevance of this study transcends historiographical environments, enriching fields such as legal studies and political science and connecting with contemporary anxieties such as the rise of illiberal democracies.
Beneficiaries (1)
| Organisation | Country | Role | EC contribution | SME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA | PT | coordinator | €1,493,271 |
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