Hate Speech or Freedom of Expression: Examining Indicators of Democracy in Selected Hybrid Regimes
Abstract:
Freedom of expression is fundamental to democratic governance but can also lead to hate speech. This paper examines the relationship between hate speech and hybrid democracies, using normative legal research and selected practical evidence techniques to analyze the main issue through a comparative analysis method. It utilized a conceptual approach of hybrid democracies in selected few countries, indicating significant strides in managing their government systems, but where democratic maturity has not kept pace. Consequently, hate speech is often treated as freedom of opinion without considering its harmful effects. The paper discovers that excessive use of the law to control people's actions can undermine democratic values. This study also illustrates the magnitude of the link between law violations committed by the government by criminalizing hate speech with the anti-critical authoritarianism style hidden behind the implementation of the democratic system. For this reason, this paper recommends that further research be able to formulate the indicators that can become a limit for hate speech so that legal certainty to protect freedom of expression can be realized. This paper has implications for viewing that excessive regulation of freedom of expression is not the solution and proposes a model that encourages the polite exercise of this freedom while upholding democratic values.