Public lecture
The populist moment in Central Europe
Zora Hesová
Fakultet političkih nauka, Sarajevo
Srijeda, 22.5. 2019. u 12 sati, Info sala
Since 2015 at the latest, populism swept over Central Europe and it is going to become a permanent feature of Central European politics for years to come. Orbán, Kaczyński, Babiš and Fico have constructed remarkable political machines that so far (with some cracks) have allowed to solidify their leadership, power and popularity.
The lecture will give an overview of the evolution of Central European populisms, characterise its specificities, ask what are the reasons of the populist’ success and offer an analysis in three theses:
First, populism in CE is may be a matter of transitional political deficiencies – but less so because of some unfinished transition but due to its “achievements”. Secondly, CE’s populism is a political style, featured by all current governments. The efficiency of the populists’ communication, framing, and polarisation draws on the existence of specific historical, social and culturalist fault-lines that remain largely unprocessed. And thirdly, CE populism developed into a governance strategy present in most CE countries, albeit to different degrees. It is characterised by majoritarianism, authoritarian control and push towards a national oligarchy.
Dr. Zora Hesová, assistant professor at Faculty of Art, Charles University, Prague;
Dr. Hesová leads a research project “Contemporary cultural wars in Central and Eastern Europe” within a research group Identities/ideologies at the Institute for political science at Charles University
