Populism and Hybrid Regimes in Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe

In the last few years, several countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) witnessed the victory of populist parties and the decline of liberal democracy. This roundtable discusses several issues that are related to this troubling trend. What are the major causes of the process of de-democratization? What are the relevant concepts that could best capture the essence of the process? Is right-wing populism in CEE different from its Western European or American counterparts? How and why does (not) the EU react to the formation of non-democratic hybrid regimes in the CEE region? What role does Russia play -- and what are the long-term geopolitical consequences of the transformation of the political landscape in the region? Finally, what could be the effective strategies of stakeholders to counter the new trends of authoritarianism in the CEE region?