The (not so) surprising longevity of identity politics: contemporary challenges of the state-society compact in Central Eastern Europe

Agarin, Timofey

doi:10.1080/21599165.2020.1714598

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…That is a question that requires further investigation; although, it would seem that there must be an ideological basis to justify simultaneous attacks on the other side. On this point, it may be useful to broadly extend existing discourse analysis (e.g., Dawson and Hanley, 2019;Sata and Karolewski, 2019;Agarin, 2020). These issues cannot be understood from data alone, which represents a limitation of indicator-based comparative studies such as ours.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The democratic backsliding paradigm in enlarged European Union countries: In-depth analysis of V-Dem indicators

Nakai

2023

Front. Polit. Sci.

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The phenomena of democratic backsliding in enlarged European Union countries of central, eastern, and southeastern Europe tend to be lumped together. These paradigms fail to capture differences across countries and time, and the differences in backsliding among the subcomponents of liberal democracy. This study analyzes this issue from several indicators provided by V-Dem for 18 countries. The results indicate that democratic backsliding has been occurring in Poland, Hungary, Serbia, and Turkey, while not as much in other countries. What has been observed in these four countries is that the violation of the liberal component of democracy, the weakening of judicial control and restrictions on freedom of expression, comes before the violation of the cleanliness of democracy and the full breakdown of democracy. Through a comparative weighing of multiple indicators, this study clarifies the nuanced reality of democratic regression in the region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The democratic backsliding paradigm in enlarged European Union countries: In-depth analysis of V-Dem indicators

Nakai

2023

Front. Polit. Sci.

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“…The subsequent political and social instability, quick advent of new technologies, and globalization have reinforced feelings of ontological vulnerability and contributed to a growth of exclusionary and radical politics. While there is no agreement upon what has driven the recent rise of political polarization across the region, there is enough evidence to suggest that the main political cleavages are no longer on the left-right economic axis but on social and cultural matters where victimhood plays a key role (Vachudova 2020;Agarin 2020). Post-1989 international influences on the region also brought about new memory practices, especially regarding Holocaust remembrance, that have collided with local nation-specific memories based on heroism and have consequently been resisted (cf.…”

Section: Victimhood As a Hegemonic Meta-narrative In Eastern Europementioning

confidence: 99%

The uses of victimhood as a hegemonic meta-narrative in eastern Europe

Hronesova

2022

Journal of Contemporary European Studies

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Narratives of wartime suffering, communist evils, and maltreatment by the 'West' have started featuring prominently in the political discourse across eastern Europe in the past decade and half. Permeating the public sphere, such narratives imply complex victimhood and often gain a hegemonic status. Why have such victimhood narratives become so pervasive? And what has been their purpose across eastern Europe? This interdisciplinary article provides a conceptual and empirical explanation of how hegemonic narratives of victimhood have been used to enhance ontological security and as an instrument of power-seeking political leaders, especially (but not exclusively) right-wing populists. It shows that although the local attachment to memory and history is often portrayed as irrational, victimhood as a narrative has clear benefits regarding national ontological security as the self-understanding of a state and a tool to justify policies. Using concrete examples, the articles identify three main sub-narratives of direct, historical and structural victimhood linked to World War II, communism and the precarious relationship with the 'West', arguing that the combination of historical traumas and the post-1989 transformations explain the pan-regional proliferation of victimhood.

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“…Esen and Gumuscu 2016;Bieber 2018). The region's international and economic environment further reinforce these warnings: While external actorsin particular the European Unionhave been important for promoting democracy in the region in the past (Schimmelfennig and Sedelmeier 2004;Agarin, 2020), they seem unable to guarantee the same incentives in the long run (Carothers 2015). In addition, the repercussions of the global financial crisis have weakened both democracy at home, as well as the capacity of external actors to implement their democracy agenda (Armingeon and Guthmann 2014;Morlino and Quaranta 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Authoritarian footprints in Central and Eastern Europe

Bochsler¹,

Juon²

2022

The (Not So) Surprising Longevity of Identity Politics

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Are populist actors more like a hurricane that risks undermining democracy? Or do they aim for a different type of democracy, which strengthens popular control? This article offers one of the most extensive, systematic analyses on the impact of populism on multiple functions of the Quality of Democracy. Going beyond the view of 'high-' or 'low-quality' democracies, we emphasize that the Quality of Democracy is related to multiple dimensions or 'functions of democracy', characterized by important trade-offs. We argue that populist actors exert differentiated effects across these functions, depending on their degree of government access and host ideology. Our analysis relies on a new disaggregated dataset covering 53 established democracies in diverse world regions over the period between 1990 and 2016. We find that populist actors increase participation and representation, especially if they are confined to the opposition and especially if they belong to the political left-wing. In contrast, we find a negative impact of populists across the spectrum on institutional safeguards, such as the rule of law and state transparency. In sum, our findings indicate that populism has a variable impact on multiple aspects of democratic quality which should be systematically investigated in a disaggregated manner that is sensitive to these differences.

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The (not so) surprising longevity of identity politics: contemporary challenges of the state-society compact in Central Eastern Europe

Cited by 10 publications

References 96 publications

The democratic backsliding paradigm in enlarged European Union countries: In-depth analysis of V-Dem indicators

The democratic backsliding paradigm in enlarged European Union countries: In-depth analysis of V-Dem indicators

The uses of victimhood as a hegemonic meta-narrative in eastern Europe

Authoritarian footprints in Central and Eastern Europe

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