Varieties of populism in East Central Europe

Abstract

While the populist phenomenon is present in the political arena of almost any European country, it is fair to ask whether there is a specific dimension to populism in East Central European countries. Many populist parties in the region have criticized the political and economic establishment as well as the post-1989 ‘liberal consensus’. The chapter discusses the broader backlash against the ‘liberal consensus’ in the region and links the backlash with populist forces and anti-pluralism. This involves radical propositions for ‘monistic’ solutions, a hegemony of the populist party, and the denial of meaningful opposition. Such stark anti-pluralism is, however, not visible in every East Central European society. The chapter analyzes the emergence of populist parties in three East Central European countries: the two less frequently discussed cases of Czech Republic and Romania as well as the widely discussed case of Hungary, with regard to which, however, the post-1989 structural role of national-conservative populism is frequently overlooked. The focus in the case studies is on the emergence of populist parties, the core populist claims of such parties (by, inter alia, analyzing party manifestos and other materials, such as interviews), and the populists’ relation to anti-pluralism and behaviour towards other parties in the domestic political arena.