Illiberal or Sovereign Democracies

A Game of Adjectives and How Not to Play It

3 April 2019

Aliaksei Kazharski

Visegrad Insight Fellow

The lynchpin of Viktor Orbán’s political ideology – his notion of “illiberal democracy” – parallels, in many important respects, the earlier Russian doctrine of “sovereign democracy”.

The proliferation of “democracies with adjectives” presents a particular danger to democratic institutions. Namely, while the fans of “adjectives” do not do away with the general idea of democracy altogether, they work from the inside to introduce their own “mutation” into its “DNA” – much in the way a virus does in a cell.

In doing so, they make use of actual problems and conflicts that democracies have to face. This includes the conflict between globalisation and the nation state (and globalised and national identities) the left-right or the liberal-conservative conflict of values, including such highly sensitive topics as family, gender and sexuality, as well as social and economic inequalities.

What antidotes are there to the virus? First, the “body politic” needs to acknowledge, in full scope, the kinship of Russian and Hungarian adjective viruses and avoid sympathising with them on ideological grounds.

Subscribe

Democratic security comes at a price. What is yours? By subscribing or donating now gain access to analysis, forecasts and scenarios by leading analysts and reporters who monitor democratic risks and develop policy debate from Central Europe on Central Europe.

MonthlyVAT included

€4/month

See all details

  • Full access to articles and reports
  • Monthly foresights and risk analysis delivered by e-mail
  • Weekly newsletter with most important highlights
  • Visegrad Insight social media community groups invitation

AnnualVAT included

€40/year

See all details

  • All monthly features PLUS…
  • Free invitation to one editorial board discussion to participate in deciding on the future direction of the Visegrad Insight
  • Free delivery of two select hardcopies of Visegrad Insight reports

Student OR Donation

Choose your contribution

See all details

  • Full access to articles and reports
  • Monthly foresights, weekly newsletters, and risk analysis delivered by e-mail
  • Free invitation to one editorial board discussion to participate in deciding on the future direction of the Visegrad Insight (annual subscription only)

Can I receive an invoice?

Yes. You will receive a receipt immediately after purchase and a VAT invoice upon request. The subscription amount includes tax. In case of a donation, there is no tax.

Are my credit card details safe?

Yes. The payment is processed by STRIPE www.stripe.com entrusted also by Amazon, Zoom, Booking.com and used by other global NGOs and businesses in the world. We do not store your credit card details.

How modify or cancel my subscription?

At any moment you can manage your subscription and account details. Sign in to modify or cancel.

Aliaksei Kazharski

Visegrad Insight Fellow

Visegrad Insight Fellow. Researcher at the Institute of European Studies and International Relations of the Comenius University in Bratislava and a lecturer at the Department of Security Studies of Charles University in Prague

Newsletter

Weekly updates with our latest articles and the editorial commentary.