Polarization and Democracy in Central Europe

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68378025%3A_____%2F25%3A00636631" target="_blank" >RIV/68378025:_____/25:00636631 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9560" target="_blank" >https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9560</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/pag.9560" target="_blank" >10.17645/pag.9560</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Polarization and Democracy in Central Europe

Original language description

This article examines the dual role of polarization in fostering political mobilization for and against democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. Populist movements in this region often drive democratic decline, yet, notable cases, such as electoral victories in Czechia (2021) and Poland (2023), suggest that civil society can counter these trends. Following Schedler (2023), we perceive polarization as a fundamental democratic about democratic norms and values. This study investigated how varying forms of polarization—ideological, affective, intransigent, and partisan sorting—affected the mobilization dynamics for and against democracy. We highlight that polarization affected mobilization for democracy more strongly than mobilization for autocracy—i.e., civil society successfully mobilized against populism. In a critical case study of limited polarized pluralism in the 2023 Czechia presidential election between populist and anti‐populist candidates, affective and partisan sorting polarization were the strongest predictors of populist support, with anger at the political situation boosting votes for the populist candidate. At the same time, pro‐Ukrainian stances drove support for the anti‐populist candidate. Our findings revealed that affective polarization and partisan sorting significantly shaped mobilization outcomes, thereby impacting democratic resilience and decay. By distinguishing between types of polarization, this study enhances the understanding of their distinct roles in political mobilization, thus underscoring that while polarization can threaten ocracy, certain forms can also strengthen civic mobilization against populist movements.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

50601 - Political science

Project

<a href="/en/project/LX22NPO5101" target="_blank" >LX22NPO5101: The National Institute for Research on the Socioeconomic Impact of Diseases and Systemic Risks</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Politics and Governance

ISSN

2183-2463

e-ISSN

2183-2463

Volume of the periodical

13

Issue of the periodical within the volume

June

Country of publishing house

PT - PORTUGAL

Number of pages

22

Pages from-to

9560

UT code for WoS article

001528567400008

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105012113884