Examining Illiberal Trends and Anti-EU Politics in East Central Europe from a Domestic Perspective: State of Research and Outline of the Book

Abstract

This opening chapter introduces the subject matter and objectives of the book. It first explains central terms and provides an overview of the different illiberal trends in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It then sketches recent conflicts between EU actors and the four East Central European states and explains why these conflicts are of a new quality. Next, it summarises the state of research on illiberal backsliding and on the EU’s tools against it and identifies shortcomings and gaps in the literature. Finally, it outlines the aims as well as the overall structure of the book and provides an overview of the contributions.

Predictors of illiberalism in Romania: A case study during the Russian invasion in Ukraine

“…There is a growing trend towards illiberalism in the European Union. In Eastern and Central Europe, democracy and the rule of law are under attack by elected majorities in countries such as Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Anders and Lorenz, 2021; Bustikova and Guasti, 2017). In Western Europe, scholars note the emergence and persistence of right-wing populist parties with illiberal tendencies, concluding that “right-wing populist parties can already be considered a permanent and institutionalized, and in some Eastern European countries even dominant, feature of party systems in advanced democracies” (Merkel and Scholl, 2018: 41).…”

“…International institutions, such as the European Union, are also targeted by illiberalism. For instance, in CEE countries, illiberal tendencies work towards undermining the EU’s foundational principles or towards taking strong anti-Brussels stances on a number of issues, including immigration (Anders and Lorenz, 2021; Bíró-Nagy, 2017). Illiberal views are negatively and significantly correlated with trust in European institutions (Voeten, 2022).…”