The popular view voiced by the Polish opposition - that the governing Law and Justice Party (PiS) wants to bring back the Middle Ages - is insufficient. It relies on the “backlash” narrative of women’s emancipation, which sees nations making linear progress towards equality, interrupted by setbacks that can be overcome by joint action. [...]
The emergent regimes of Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Beata Szydło in Poland do not represent a revival of authoritarianism, but a new form of governance. This new system stems from the failures of globalisation and neoliberalism, which created states that are weak for the strong, and strong for the weak.
To describe the modus operandi of these new regimes, we have coined a new term: the “polypore” state.
A polypore is a parasitic fungus that feeds on rotting trees, contributing to their decay.
In the same way, the governments of Poland and Hungary feed on the vital resources of their liberal predecessors, and produce a fully dependent state structure in return.
This style of government involves appropriating the institutions, mechanisms and funding channels of the European liberal democratic project. [...]
Just as the polypore fungus usually attacks already damaged trees, illiberal regimes rise to power in the context of democratic standards weakened by the financial, security and migration crises.
In Central Europe, post-1989 regime transformation gave preference to economic reform measures over civic and social ones. Liberal norms and practices have never been fully embedded in these societies. This creates a paradoxical situation where illiberal forces have flourished amid an unfinished liberal revolution.
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