Stopping the Flood: The Application of the Cordon Sanitaire Strategy in the Lithuanian Political System

Abstract

The article examines the cordon sanitaire strategy, used by mainstream political actors to isolate anti-system parties. Cordon sanitaire is a term commonly encountered in political science, but in the case of Lithuania, it is not sufficiently understood. This became particularly evident during the most recent Lithuanian parliamentary elections, when a debate emerged regarding the possible application of the cordon sanitaire strategy toward the political party “Nemuno aušra” (Dawn of the Nemunas). This article aims to conceptualize the operational mechanism of the cordon sanitaire strategy and, based on empirical data, answer the following questions: is it possible to apply the cordon sanitaire strategy in the Lithuanian political system? Why was the idea of applying this strategy not implemented during the last parliamentary elections, even though it was proposed?