Post-Communist Transition - Current Political Cultures and Trends in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia
Michael Rossi Department of Political Science Masters Program in United Nations and Global Policy Studies Rutgers University July 4, 2021 This lecture immediately picks up from where the last lecture on the Missing Cultural Dimension of Democratization in Central Europe left off. Here, we examine current political, cultural, and social trends in Viktor Orban's Hungary, Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Poland, and Slovakia after Robert Fico and note the sustained appeal of illiberal national populism that seems to function as a reaction against years of neoliberal democratic development that either failed to take cultural values and beliefs into account, or sidelined them in favor of structural development. While I neither praise nor condemn the politics of Orban, Kaczynski, or the various conservative and populist movements in Slovakia, I do acknowledge their socio-political potency; particularly in light of no legitimate Left-Progressive political movements in the region, and the frequent inability of more Eurocentric parties and organizations that, while partially responsible for their rise and saliency, can only respond to the growing threat of populist challenges with the need for "more Europe". Reading covered in this lecture: Jacques Rupnik, “Explaining Eastern Europe: The Crisis of Liberalism”, Journal of Democracy, vol. 29 no. 3 (July 2013), pp. 24 – 38 Marta Kotwas and Jan Kubik, “Symbolic Thickening of Public Culture and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Poland”, East European Politics and Societies vol. 33 no. 2, (May 2019), pp. 435 – 471 Péter Krekó and Zsolt Enyedi, “Explaining Eastern Europe: Orbán’s Laboratory of Illiberalism”, Journal of Democracy vol. 29 no. 3 (July 2013), pp. 39 – 51 Michael Rossi, “Slovakia After Fico: Systemic Change or More of the Same?”, Czech Journal of Political Science 3/2020, pp. 235 – 258 Chapter Markers: Part I: Hungary under Viktor Orban: 00:00:00 - 00:22:22 Part II: Poland under Jaroslaw Kaczynski: 00:22:22 - 00:36:45 Part III: Slovakia After Robert Fico: 00:36:45 - 00:53:58 What This All Tells Us about Central Europe: 00:53:58 - 01:02:45
