Category: Central/Eastern Europe

Hungary vote an ‘optical illusion’ and ‘peacock dance’

     

  Hungarian lawmakers have voted in favour of repealing extraordinary powers granted to Prime Minister Viktor Orban to fight the coronavirus, the BBC reports: Members of parliament unanimously requested the… Read more »

Europe’s resourceful civil society a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

     

Lithuania’s elves (above) are just one branch of a surprisingly complex and creative network across Europe that is combating disinformation from local sources, Russia, and elsewhere, says Thomas Kent, a… Read more »

Eastern Europe’s democratic transitions 30 years on: Diverse experience & narratives

     

The US can still influence democratic standards in Central Europe more effectively than any other external power because it is equipped both with the instruments of soft and hard power… Read more »

Hope for Eastern Europe’s civil society: Scenarios for the Eastern Partnership

     

  Hundreds of people in Minsk protested against the rule of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the largest opposition demonstration of the year. They denounced the authoritarian rule of Lukashenko, who… Read more »

Pandemic represents ‘high-water mark’ for brittle authoritarian model’s appeal?

     

It is quite possible that the coronavirus pandemic will represent the high-water mark for the appeal of the authoritarian model and of its two standard-bearers, China and Russia, according to… Read more »

Preserving liberty in the time of corona: Democratic governance the best antidote

     

The Indian economist Amartya Sen insisted on democracy as a universal value (in a Journal of Democracy reader, left). He also observed that democratic governance is the best antidote to the… Read more »

‘Democracy on Pandemic Pause’: Why populists understand Eastern Europe

     

Amid the turmoil and fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Central and Eastern European populists are wasting no time sowing division and attempting to cement their positions. Hungarian Prime Minister… Read more »

Central Europe – a laboratory for democracy and security?

     

Imagine that in five to ten years, Central Europe has become a laboratory for democracy and security in Europe, note analysts Wojciech Przybylski and Galan Dall. After decades of following… Read more »