The Hollowing and Backsliding of Democracy in East Central Europe

Greskovits, Béla

doi:10.1111/1758-5899.12225

Cited by 311Political Theory and DemocracyEastern European Communism and ReformsPost-Communist Economic and Political Transition

The Hollowing and Backsliding of Democracy in East Central Europe

Greskovits, Béla·2015·Global Policy

DOI 10.1111/1758-5899.12225

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Abstract

The essay identifies two main dangers to East Central Europe's young democracies: ‘hollowing,’ or declining popular involvement in democracy, and ‘backsliding,’ or destabilization and reverting to semi‐authoritarian practices. It traces the malaise of some but not all postsocialist democracies to varied combinations of hollowing and backsliding. The main finding is an intricate pattern: in some cases the two syndromes coincide, in others they do not. There is also significant cross‐country variation in the gravity of syndromes. The region's pure neoliberal capitalist regimes are likelier to undermine popular political participation than those, which try to balance marketization with relatively generous social protection for its losers. At the same time, the article finds that while the hollowing of democracy before the global financial crisis has not necessarily been a curse, the massive participation of citizenry prior to the crisis has not been a generalized blessing from the viewpoint of democracy's resilience. This is substantiated by a comparative case study of Hungary and Latvia with lessons for activists of democracy promotion and civil society development.

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Democratic backsliding is viewed by Bermeo and Greskovits as an ongoing, gradual process rather than a turning point that can be clearly identified in time.
“Both view backsliding as an ongoing, gradual process rather than a turning point that can be clearly identified in time.”
From Towards a Conceptual Framework for Struggles over Democracy in Backsliding States: Gender Equality Policy in Central Eastern Europe (2018) · cites this paper as Greskovits, 2015

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“While significant attention has been devoted to democratic backsliding (Bermeo, 2016; Greskovits, 2015), there is a striking lack of research into the gendered aspects and implications”
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“…registered partnerships also increased over time but has only reached about 50 percent in Slovakia (2015) and 36 percent in Poland (2017).6 Alliances between political parties and conservative groups, including church organizations, think tanks, and NGOs (Greskovits 2015, 2020), fuel illiberalism.”
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Authors: Greskovits, B.
Affiliations: Central European University (AT)
Corresponding author: Greskovits, Béla
Venue: Global Policy
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2015-06
Volume: 6
Issue: S1
Pages: 28-37
ISSN: 1758-5880 (ISSN-L)
1758-5899
DOI: 10.1111/1758-5899.12225
OpenAlex: W2170798589
Cited by: 310
References: 30
Citations by year: 2026: 12 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 3
FWCI: 73.71
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 23 d)
Locations: Global Policy (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Eastern European Communism and Reforms
Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Post-Communist Economic and Political Transition
Keywords: democratic backsliding, East Central Europe, political participation, semi-authoritarianism, neoliberalism, social protection, 2008 financial crisis, democracy promotion, civil society, Hungary, Latvia

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The Hollowing and Backsliding of Democracy in East Central Europe

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