Abstract
The Slovak political system has changed rapidly since the Republic’s formation in 1993. Today the number of ideologically conservative political parties is rapidly rising. This article clarifies some aspects of recent party-political developments in Slovakia. To provide an overview, only the most important social milestones have been taken into account. Specifically, the 2015 referendum on the protection of the ‘traditional family’, the mass civic protests that erupted in 2012 and 2018, and the business–mafia–political connections that have been exposed will be discussed.
Highlights
With regard to the internal political developments in the countries of the Visegrád Group (V4), there is a growing belief that the region has been gradually developing several illiberal democracies (Dawson and Hanley 2016; Buštíková and Guasti 2017; Buzogány 2017; Wilkin 2018)
Former members of the Communist Party and their descendants, Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni and former State Secret Security agents. Not all these personalities feature in all the V4 countries, the political systems of these countries are dominated by the parties and movements of conservative and nationalist ideologies
In order to offer a complex overview, the most important social milestones will be taken into account, including the 2015 referendum on the protection of the ‘traditional family’, as well as the mass civic protests that erupted as a consequence of the exposure of business– mafia–political connections
Summary
With regard to the internal political developments in the countries of the Visegrád Group (V4), there is a growing belief that the region has been gradually developing several illiberal democracies (Dawson and Hanley 2016; Buštíková and Guasti 2017; Buzogány 2017; Wilkin 2018). It is undeniable that the V4 states share a common identity (Terem and Lenč 2011) and a complicated history of totalitarian Communist rule (Veselý 2013; Livezeanu and Klimó 2017), and the painful inheritance of its societal consequences This is evident in the social lives of the respective countries, which are controlled by powerful oligarchic structures and moguls rooted in the former regimes. The European elections, which have long been marked by low voter turnout (Gyarfášová and Henderson 2018), led to a victory for the liberal and centre–right coalition of Progressive Slovakia (Progresívne Slovensko) and TOGETHER—Civic Democracy (SPOLU – Občianska demokracia) These facts should be looked at in the broader context of party system changes, the evolution of a significant number of the parties towards conservatism. In order to offer a complex overview, the most important social milestones will be taken into account, including the 2015 referendum on the protection of the ‘traditional family’, as well as the mass civic protests that erupted as a consequence of the exposure of business– mafia–political connections
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