The Liberal Trap

How Democratic Discourse Enables Illiberal Politics

Abstract

This article investigates the internal tensions of Liberal Democracy through the lens of discourse and political language, with particular attention to the rise of populist narratives. Far from being an external threat, populism emerges as a product of democracy itself, appropriating its symbolic repertoire – such as freedom, sovereignty, representation, and transparency – to construct a rhetoric of rupture. This dynamic generates what can be termed the ‘liberal trap’: populism legitimizes itself within democratic frameworks while simultaneously fostering illiberal practices that erode pluralism, checks and balances, and the substantive rule of law. By analyzing the semantic reconfigurations of key democratic concepts, the article highlights how language functions as both a vehicle of legitimacy and a mechanism of democratic corrosion. The study argues that populism should not be reduced to pathology or deviation but understood as a discursive transformation that reveals unresolved contradictions at the core of liberal democracy. In this way, populist discourse operates as both a symptom of systemic fragility and a catalyst of political change, illustrating how democratic ideals can be reappropriated and instrumentalized to undermine their very foundations.