Three Concepts of Freedom of Assembly: Liberal, Associative, Radical

Political struggles are entwined with the freedom of assembly, yet the latter is construed in entirely incompatible ways in both theory and practice. This article reconstructs three distinct concepts of freedom of assembly, their content and complex interrelations. This typology integrates these diverging perspectives on the freedom of assembly into a single coherent theoretical framework. The three concepts of the freedom of assembly are liberal, associative, and radical. In the liberal understanding, freedom of assembly is one right among others in the catalog of individual rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and association, guaranteed by the state. In the associative understanding, freedom of assembly is the precondition for the establishment of civil society organizations and interest group representation. Freedom of assembly in the associative understanding is the precondition for creating associations capable of negotiating and compromising with the state. In the radical understanding, freedom of assembly names a form of action able to destabilize existing regimes and institute new political constitutions. In this radical understanding, freedom of assembly is neither a constituted power (as in the liberal understanding) nor a negotiating power (as in the associative understanding), but a constituent power capable of creating new political forms.