Challenges to Democracies in East Central Europe / Edition 1

by Jan Holzer, Miroslav Mares

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138655966
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/16/2016
Series:	Routledge Advances in European Politics
Pages:	155
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

"...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

From the Publisher