1st Edition

Challenges to Democracies in East Central Europe

Edited By Jan Holzer, Miroslav Mareš Copyright 2016
    156 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    155 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Democratic development in Central and Eastern Europe is not a finished project, nor is its progress immune to internal and external threats. The current social, economic, ethnic and political situation within the region presents new dangers.

    This text identifies and analyses challenges to current East-Central European democracies in terms of potential deconsolidation of democracy reflected in the changes in the institutional and procedural framework (polity), and in the choice of instruments and strategies in the policy area. Specifically examining the regimes of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, these challenges include political extremism and violence, corruption, ethnic and religious conflicts. Presenting original Central European data and utilising the concept of consolidation of democracy from von Beyme and Merkel’s concept, the book demonstrates that these challenges are as much influenced by imported phenomena, such as immigration, organized crime, and other potential systemic undemocratic volatilities, as the domestic situation.

    This text will be of key interest to scholars and students East European politics, post-Soviet politics, EU Studies, security and strategic studies, international relations, area studies, modern history and sociology.

    1. Challenges to Democracy in East Central European Politics: Introductory Remarks

    Pavel Dufek, Jan Holzer and Miroslav Mares

    2.: Debating Democracy in East Central Europe: The Issues and Their Origins

    Pavel Dufek and Jan Holzer

    3. Populism as a Threat to Liberal Democracy in East Central Europe

    Vlastimil Havlik

    4. Extremism and East Central European Politics

    Petra Vejvodova

    5. Democracy and Organised Crime in East Central Europe

    Petr Kupka, Miroslav Mares and Michal Mochtak

    6. Corruption and Democracy in East Central Europe

    Aneta Pinkova

    7 External Actors and their Influences on the Quality of Democracy in East Central Europe

    Michal Mochtak

    Epilogue: The Deconsolidation of Democracy and Democratic Quality

    Andrew Roberts

    Biography

    Jan Holzer is a Political Scientist, Professor in the Department of Political Science and Principal Researcher in the International Institute for Political Science, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. He is also the Editor of the Central European Political Studies journal.

    Miroslav Mareš is a Political Scientist, Professor in the Department of Political Science and Principal Researcher in the International Institute for Political Science, Masaryk University, Czech Republic.

    "...Challenges to Democracies in East Central Europe is still a powerful potential stimulus for future discussion and research."

    Sean Hanley, UCL SSEES, Slavonic and East European Review

    "This is a contribution that will serve scholars of the region well with its rich information sourced from local experts."

    DRAGOMIR STOYANOV, Sofia University/VUZF University, Sofia, Bulgaria