The friction between political correctness and freedom of speech in contemporary democratic societies. Assessing the need for a recalibrated equilibrium within the international legal framework

Abstract

This dissertation examines the relationship between political correctness and freedom of speech, questioning whether the contemporary dynamics of political correctness and free expression occur within the international legal framework or whether there is the need for a furthered balance. The study does so by following a multidisciplinary methodology, amalgamating legal, philosophical, psychological and social scientific sources. Firstly, it traces the historical and cultural evolution of political correctness, subsequently analysing the statutory structure of freedom of speech through the principal international human rights instruments. It then explores the current objectives pursued by political correctness, before examining the leading arguments advanced both in support of and against the phenomenon. Particular attention is devoted to the interaction between political correctness and freedom of expression, assessing, from an empirical viewpoint, whether the two values are ultimately compatible or fundamentally antithetical. The final chapter turns to the most contested practical arenas in which this tension manifests: hate speech regulation, “cancel culture”, and the effects of political correctness on artistic and creative outputs, culminating in the case study of Kanye West. The thesis concludes that, although the normative foundations of political correctness find genuine grounding in the established transnational apparatus, its extrajudicial mechanisms of informal sanction frequently exceed such lawful limits and disproportionately restrict expressive liberty, thereby suggesting the need for a more calibrated approach.