Issue published: 31 December 2022

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Does hatred rule political communication on social media? How do politicians talk about the EU on Facebook, and how do their followers react?

Kristina Böhmer, p. 477–498

Abstract: This paper focuses on the communication of four Slovak political leaders about the European Union’s agenda on Facebook and their followers’ interactions. As cognitive authorities of their followers, politicians directly impact public perception of current news by providing their own opinions and views. The paper studies the politicians’ followers’ engagement through manual qualitative sentiment analysis.The results suggest that while moderate Facebook users who support the EU are not active and do not show their support openly, users who condemn the EU express their negative sentiments regardless of the politician’s sentiment in the post. If a politician praises the EU, the followers criticise it. If a politician criticises the EU, followers agree with them. That leads us to the conclusion that social media dynamised the concept of cognitive authority.

Keywords: Facebook, social media, political communication, EU, cognitive authority

Power and powerlessness of the civil society in Hungarian illiberal democracy between 2010–2022

Virág Havasi, p. 499–529

Abstract: In the study we examine the pulling, pushing and pulling back factors and events that influenced civil activism in Hungary between 2010–2022, which was the period of the birth of illiberal democracy in the country. We describe – relying on newspaper reports – the most important events and campaigns in the given period and their effectiveness. In Hungary citizenship activity is at a low level, even within Central‑Europe. The viability of civil society is decreasing, especially in terms of financing opportunities, legal environment, image of civil sphere and ability to interest representation. We found that between 2010–2022 the presence of grievances as triggers was constant in the country, while the opportunity structures for action narrowed somewhat, but the illiberal Hungarian system is restrictive and not oppressive. There is a way to protest, to act ina different way, and actions do take place, but it is rarely possible to influence decision‑makers – mostly in simple matters that affect everyone. However, social movements do not only fight for instrumental goals, but they also mobilise people, build organisations, contribute to self‑development, form collective identity and (re)socialise the participants. These are important consequences even if the instrumental goals are not achieved.

Keywords: civil activism, illiberal democracy, Hungary

A correlation of the measurement techniques and their outputs in the study of the subnational level of politics

Volodymyr Hnatiuk and Svitlana Bula, p. 531–572

Abstract: At the beginning of the third decade of the 21^st century, the role and value of subnational research in comparative political science are further strengthened, given that the political life of society is moving in two interdependent directions: localisation and internationalisation. Instead, the specifics of the subnational topic contribute to changes and innovations in the implementation of various methodological techniques inthe study of subnational units and their structural elements. However, the question of correlating outputs of techniques – objective and subjective – still remains unresolved, and therefore actualises the following formulation: how they appear equivalent in the practical plane, as their theoretical context is illustrated balanced within equivalence in spatial research politics on a subnational scale. In other words, whether the results ofeach technique are approximate or distinctive from each other from the point of view of the final situation. In the article, a variable degree of correlation has been demonstrated between both techniques and also a hypothesis has been presented about the nature and type of such interactions on the example of three cases (Transcarpathian, Lviv and Chernivtsi regions) in Ukraine in the period 2010–2015.

Keywords: methodical correlation, objective and subjective measurement technique, subnational political regimes, Ukraine, subnational level of politics

Abusive Constitutionalism in Hungary 

Krisztina Juhász, p. 573–601

Abstract: The study, using the concept of abusive constitutionalism, examines those formal and informal constitutional changes which took place after the Fidesz‑KDNP coalition had come into power in 2010 and resulted in the hybridisation of the Hungarian political system. The paper, using qualitative research methods such as analysis of the relevant literature and primary resources, including the in‑depth analysis of the relevant Constitutional Court decisions, comes to the conclusion that the Orbán governments first dismantled the checks and balances, foremost the Constitutional Courtvia formal abusive constitutional changes, and as a next step, with the contribution of the weakened and packed Constitutional Court, the government aims to eliminate the EU’s legislation and intervention on the field of asylum policy via formal and informal abusive constitutional changes based on the concepts of constitutional pluralism and identity.

Keywords: legal constitutionalism, political constitutionalism, abusive constitutionalism, constitutional identity, asylum and migration, Hungary

The nature of the Education Cleavage in four Eroding Democracies

Nevio Moreschi, p. 603–632

Abstract: In recent years, weaker and consolidated democracies alike were in many instances caught by a wave of autocratisation. However, given the protractedness inthe time of the phenomenon of democratic erosion, it is not unlikely that the process overlaps with multiple electoral cycles. This gives to those parties committed to liberal democracy a window to organise themselves and challenge the incumbent at the ballots. The present study investigates whether the political division between incumbent parties and organised pro‑democratic opposition in Poland, Hungary, Bolivia and Turkey coincides with a political cleavage that fits Baiern and Maier’s three‑dimensional conceptualisation of the term. Through a quantitative approach, it emerges that indeed authoritarian and liberal values (Normative dimension) substantially account for the divergence in political support (Organisational dimension) by the different educated groups (Social dimension) in all the countries under observation. These findings not only support the existence of an educational cleavage outside of Western and Northern Europe, but also highlights its centrality in the ongoing fight for democracy. Furthermore, Hungary appears as a peculiar case, since democratic commitment accounts more than the authoritarian‑liberal scale in explaining the support (or lack of it) for the incumbent party by the Hungarian educational groups.

Keywords: autocratisation, democratic erosion, educational cleavage, political cleavages, DPA scale, authoritarian scale

Peculiarities and Prospects of the European Union Involvement in the Settlement of Conflicts on the Territory of the Eastern Partnership Countries

Olha Ivasechko, Oleh Tsebenko, Yaryna Turchyn and Yaryna Vezdenko, p. 633–660

Abstract: A new EU global strategy is being formed, as opposed to the European Security Strategy, which no longer corresponds to the geopolitical environment. In accordance with the evolution of security threats at the basis of the Global Strategy, the trends of ensuring unity within the EU and its global leadership, as well as strengthening the EU’s defence capabilities and changing its security approaches are now becoming of vital importance. It is the security structural transformations that currently pose the task of geopolitical repositioning to international actors in the global security system. In the conditions of such restructuring, the role of the EU in resolving international conflicts is given a special place. It is obvious that its classic approaches to conflict resolution have lost their perspective.

Keywords: European Union, mediation, Eastern Partnership, armed conflicts, negotiation process, peacekeeping activities, territorial integrity, unrecognised republics, separatists, international security, threats, peace agreement, war

The European Parliament as Transformational Actor toward the Reconsideration of the EU Eastern Policy

Vadym Zheltovskyy, p. 661–679

Abstract: The main purpose of the paper is to analyse the role of the European Parliament (EP) in the reconsideration of the EU eastern policy in the light of Russian full‑scale military aggression against Ukraine. With the view to reaching the stated objective, the following research tasks are taken into consideration. First, particular attention is paid to the change of the EP approach toward the issue of eastern policy building inthe after math of the 2019 elections and after the 24 February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In order to define the transformative potential of the EP in the institutional system of the European Union (EU) as regards the eastern dimension of its neighbourhood policy, the analysis covers selected resolutions and recommendations as well askey political addresses delivered by leaders of the EP, European Council and European Commission. Second, the study presents the context of the foreign policy structural competition between the EU and Russia putting particular emphasis on the role of institutions mentioned above in the process of foreign policy‑making and on the nature of the EU support for the democratisation processes in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region before the 24 February 2022. Finally, there is made an attempt to evaluate the steps undertaken by the EP in order to reform the EU eastern policy and enhance support for the Europeanisation processes in partner states aimed at democratic transformation of the region.

Keywords: European Parliament, transformational leadership, transactional leadership, EU eastern policy, Eastern Partnership

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