Freedom of association

Lore & Background

Freedom of association has been a necessary feature of every democratic society, recognizing pluralistic sources of power and organization aside from government. It has been a primary target for repression by dictatorial societies. In West Germany after World War II, free trade unions were resurrected and guaranteed by the Basic Law.

Reader's Guide

Freedom of association is manifested through the right to join a trade union, engage in free speech, participate in debating societies, political parties, religious denominations, fraternities, and sport clubs, and not to be compelled to belong to an association. It is closely linked with freedom of assembly, particularly under the U.S. Bill of Rights. Courts and delegated officers may impose restrictions on convicted criminals as a condition of legal stipulation, and rights may be waived under circumstances such as a guilty plea, conviction, restraining orders, or probationer's search and seizure procedures. Freedom of association is also legally restricted in certain circumstances, such as with the Civil Rights Act, where private discrimination against certain protected classes was made illegal. In the United States, the Supreme Court held in NAACP v. Alabama that freedom of association is an essential part of freedom of speech. The concept of 'intimate association' includes the family and may extend to private, adult, non-commercial, consensual sexual relationships. 'Expressive association' allows groups to exclude members if their presence would affect the group's ability to advocate a particular point of view, though the government cannot force groups to include a message they do not wish to convey.

Did You Know?

• Freedom of association is guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 20, which states that no one may be compelled to belong to an association.
• In Italy, secret associations and associations pursuing political aims through military organizations are forbidden by Article 18 of the Constitution.

Origins and the Puzzle of Political Identity

Course of Freedom (Plefsi Eleftherias) emerged in April 2016 when Zoe Konstantopoulou, the former President of the Hellenic Parliament, formally announced its creation. The founding declaration laid out a broad platform encompassing democracy, justice, transparency, human rights, debt cancellation, and the pursuit of World War II reparations. What makes the party's identity particularly complex is the difficulty analysts have in pinning it to a single ideological category. Political scientist Mattia Zulianello of the University of Trieste classified it as left-wing populist, while other commentators have labelled it far-left, nominally left, or nationalist left. Konstantopoulou herself rejects these labels, insisting the party is anti-establishment and neither left nor right. Its appeal has crossed traditional boundaries, drawing support from both left-wing and far-right voters through a generalized anti-systemic message. The party is described as radical yet legalist—virulently rejecting all politicians while still operating within institutional frameworks.

Economic Doctrine and the Don't Pay Campaign

At the core of Course of Freedom's platform sits a hardline opposition to the austerity memoranda, the Troika, and what Konstantopoulou has called monetary blackmail. The party demands full cancellation of Greece's national debt, which Konstantopoulou has termed illegal, illegitimate, odious, unsustainable, and unconstitutional, citing the Hellenic Parliament's Greek Debt Truth Commission report. Since 2017, the party has spearheaded a Don't Pay movement and a broader campaign of general disobedience targeting debts, taxes, and insurance contributions. On the monetary front, Course of Freedom is a hard Eurosceptic: Konstantopoulou has called the European Union a monstrous creation and the euro a tool of enslavement and oppression. The party advocates monetary sovereignty and alternative means of payment, though Konstantopoulou has clarified she never advocated a return to the drachma specifically, insisting no currency is sacred or a panacea. In 2025 she emphasized digital currency as a defensive option against liquidity cutoffs.

Electoral Journey and Parliamentary Breakthrough

Although founded in 2016, Course of Freedom spent several years building its electoral base before achieving legislative representation. The party cooperated with the I Don't Pay Movement, including its leaders on joint ballots for the 2019 European and national elections. The breakthrough came in the June 2023 Greek legislative election, when Course of Freedom cleared the threshold with 3.17 percent of the vote and secured eight seats in the Hellenic Parliament. In the 2024 European Parliament election, the party elected Maria Zacharia, a trade unionist and labourist, as its Member of European Parliament. The party's parliamentary presence has also been marked by activism beyond the chamber: sitting MP Georgia Kefala participated in the March to Gaza and joined a travel delegation to Egypt. In 2025, the party extended its program by calling for a Constitutional Convention organized through participatory means, with Konstantopoulou urging the adoption of a new Constitution of the 21st century that would enshrine popular democracy and eliminate privileges for political personnel.

Foreign Policy, Social Positions, and Institutional Reform

Course of Freedom's foreign policy positions are sharply defined. The party opposed the Prespa Agreement on North Macedonia's name, participating in and calling for the 2018 and 2019 mass protests under the slogan I'm not ceding my homeland, and has demanded a referendum on the matter. It claims German war reparations and loans of up to 350 billion euros for Nazi-era atrocities and advocates expanding Greece's territorial waters to 10 kilometres. On the social front, the party has voiced support for refugees, the LGBT community, victims of sexism and sexual violence, and opponents of mandatory vaccination. During the Gaza conflict, Konstantopoulou met with the Palestinian envoy, condemned attacks on health facilities, and vowed the party would be the voice of Palestine in Greece. Domestically, the program calls for confiscating property of bankers and politicians deemed responsible for the memoranda, shutting down media accused of propaganda and entanglement, and replacing riot police with citizen-participation alternatives.