The EU’s Enfants Terribles: Democratic Backsliding in Central Europe since 2010
The EU’s Enfants Terribles: Democratic Backsliding in Central Europe since 2010
复制标题
欧盟的可怕婴儿：2010年以来中欧的民主倒退
作者：
E. Bakke;N. Sitter
在学术文献中，匈牙利和波兰经常被引用为民主倒退的典型案例。然而，随着倒退的叙述越来越受欢迎，这个词被应用到其他后共产主义地区，包括捷克共和国和斯洛伐克。我们认为，这种诊断部分是基于概念延伸，并着手拯救概念作为一种分析工具。然后，我们评估了四个Visegrád国家倒退的程度，从动机、机会、反对或制约力量的强弱等方面解释了倒退（以及相对缺乏倒退）。我们得出的结论是，形势并不像一些评论员所说的那样令人绝望：匈牙利和波兰的民主倒退取决于一些特殊因素，因此，欧盟领导人在考虑对倒退的成员国采取有力行动时，不必因担心危机蔓延而手足无措。
In the academic literature, Hungary and Poland are often cited as paradigmatic cases of democratic backsliding. However, as the backsliding narrative gained traction, the term has been applied to the rest of the post-communist region, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We suggest that this diagnosis is in part based on conceptual stretching, and set out to rescue the concept as an analytical tool. We then assess the extent of backsliding in the four Visegrád countries, explaining backsliding (and the relative lack of it) in terms of motive, opportunity, and the strength or weakness of opposing or constraining forces. We conclude that the situation is not as desperate as some commentators would have it: democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland was contingent on a few exceptional factors, and EU leaders therefore need not be paralysed by the fear of contagion when they contemplate forceful action against backsliding member states.