Paradoxes of (Il)liberal democracy: the role of Christian Democracy.

Studies on the democratic backsliding in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) often focus on local dysfunctions and idiosyncrasies, and they tend to overlook how those authoritarian tendencies are deeply influenced by European integration. I argue that the wave of authoritarianism in CEE is exacerbated by a...

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Published in:Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 1032 - 1056
Main Author: Comelli, Martino
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Dec2024
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Dec2024
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        10.1080/13511610.2021.2016377
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        atl: Paradoxes of (Il)liberal democracy: the role of Christian Democracy.
      aug:
        au: Comelli, Martino
        affil: Department of Political Science, Central European University, Vienna, Austria
      su:
        European Union
        Gender role
        Political culture
        Authoritarianism
        Identity politics
        European integration
      sug:
        subj:
          Gender role
          Political culture
          Authoritarianism
          Identity politics
          European Union
          European integration
      keyword:
        authoritarian liberalism
        Christian Democracy
        illiberal democracy
        populism
        authoritarian liberalism
        Christian Democracy
        illiberal democracy
        populism
      ab: Studies on the democratic backsliding in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) often focus on local dysfunctions and idiosyncrasies, and they tend to overlook how those authoritarian tendencies are deeply influenced by European integration. I argue that the wave of authoritarianism in CEE is exacerbated by a shared political culture based on Christian Democracy (CD), and instead of divergence between Western and CEE, a form of convergence is happening. I point to CD's role in responding to the 'polanyian' tensions between democracy and liberalism. CD played an important role in shaping the present constitutional and ideational order of the European Union. The 'illiberal' policies enacted by several member countries—especially in the domains of Christian identity politics, traditional gender roles, and Bismarckian welfare—come out of the Christian-Democratic political toolbox and exemplify a paradoxical regime of authoritarian liberalism (or politics without policies) that does not threaten the (neo)liberal foundations of the EU.
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    language: English
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