The global crisis broke out 'externally' when the 'internal' institutional crisis in the EU reach... more The global crisis broke out 'externally' when the 'internal' institutional crisis in the EU reached its peak. In addition, the new member states were still in the post-accession crisis. These three types of 'crises' can be observed: first, a deep systemic crisis is ongoing in the global world; second, the creative crisis is the usual way of development in the EU; and finally third, the serious problems, disturbances, troubles in the new member states are transitory as the unavoidable contradiction of Europeanisation within the EU. Nonetheless, in the deepening-widening relationship, the new members are the main losers of the triple crisis, since the global financial crisis has broken out when they have been in their most vulnerable situation, so it deteriorates significantly their efforts to catch up and reach 'effective membership'. Two alternative scenarios can be outlined: (1) the 'post-communist track' and (2) the 'completing the membership' scenario. The first scenario has been based on the 'Prague-Vladivostok doctrine', which presupposes that these 'post-communist countries' are basically of the same nature from Prague to Vladivostok and due to the burden of history they are doomed to fail in the process of catching up in the EU. The completing the membership scenario has been based on the Europeanisation process, which indicates that the new member states can reach effective membership by 2015. All in all, a new kind of controversial progress has begun, since the global economic and social crisis with new dangers and new opportunities has accelerated the necessary domestic reforms in the new member states. 1
The article examines the ups and downs of Hungaryʹs accession to the European Union. It considers... more The article examines the ups and downs of Hungaryʹs accession to the European Union. It considers Europeanization as a process parallel to EU accession, and uses key terms accordingly. Hungaryʹs development in the 1990s is thus described as ʺanticipatory Europeanizationʺ, the more concrete EU perspective taken up in 1998 as ʺadaptive Europeanizationʺ, the years between 1998 and 2002 are labeled as ʺderailed Europe-anizationʺ, and the years after the actual EU accession as ʺpost-accession crisisʺ. Much of this analysis focuses on the central government, but also includes developments on the sub-national, i.e. meso-and micro-levels of Hungarian public administration. The conclusion offers an outlook for the imminent future, as Hungary prepares for assuming the EU presidency in 2011.
The dramatic decline of democracy in East-Central Europe (ECE) has attracted great interest world... more The dramatic decline of democracy in East-Central Europe (ECE) has attracted great interest worldwide, both in the circle of leading politicians and among social scientists. Going beyond the usual narrow spectrum of the extensive literature on this topic, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of the ECE region, covering the three big social subsystemsthe socioeconomic , legal-political and cultural-civilizational dimensions-in their interactions to explain the reasons for the collapse of ECE democratic systems in the 2010s. The book does not deal with the individual ECE countries-the Czech Republic (CZ), Hungary (HU), Poland (PL), Slovakia (SK) and Slovenia (SI)-separately, but outlines the general features and the historical trajectory of the ECE region in last 30 years, from the very beginning of systemic change in 1989 until the end of 2018, in the two big stages of 'chaotic democracy' and 'authoritarian populism', with a turning point around 2010. Finally, starting from the decline in democracy, the book indicates the perspectives for democracy renewal in ECE in the period of the New World Order and the continued federalization of the EU. This Introduction gives the theoretical summary of the whole book, the 'bare bones' or description of its conceptual framework and basic terms in outline, focusing on Europeanization and democratization in ECE. It turns against the 'Western fallacy' as an easy dream of creating a carbon copy of the West through a relatively short and painless evolutionary catching-up process. My earlier books (Ágh, 1998a, 1998b) were written in a rather optimistic mood about the enormous historical progressive transformations in ECE in the years of democratic transition when the focus was on the big legal-constitutional transformations. No doubt the Great Transformation-using the term of Karl Polanyi ([1944] 2001)-in ECE has meant a progressive historical turning point for Euro-Atlantic integration, as has been discussed in a literature of library size. But this
All ECE countries have covered the same historical trajectory of ‘the third-generation autocracy’... more All ECE countries have covered the same historical trajectory of ‘the third-generation autocracy’, but Hungary has been reaching its ‘perfection’, since the two-thirds, constitutional supermajority in the Hungarian case has allowed for the Orbán regime to complete this ‘reverse wave’ in all fields of society and turning it into a zombie democracy. The conceptual frame of this paper is that the decline of democracy and the turn to autocratisation can be presented in ECE in the three big stages of the Easy Dream, Chaotic Democracy and Neoliberal Autocracy in the three corresponding decades. The paper concentrates on the third stage in its three shorter periods taking 3–4 years as the DeDemocratisation, Autocratisation and DeEuropeanisation. The Hungarian case has been presented in this paper in a comparative ECE view as its worst-case scenario that also sheds light on the parallel developments in the fellow ECE countries.
Globalization has become a magic word in the last decades, first of all after the collapse of the... more Globalization has become a magic word in the last decades, first of all after the collapse of the bipolar world order. It has been understood in many ways and in many fields as if the so called ‘Global Challenge’ had acted as an omnipotent and omnipresent force - inevitably and with the same consequences everywhere (see, Waterman 1996 and Power 1997). When we discuss, however, the transformation of East Central Europe (ECE - Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia) in an inter-regional comparison, we can identify both its ambiguous, dual (positive and negative) effects and indirect consequences or side-effects. It must also be emphasized that globalization has increased the parallel and counterbalancing processes of regionalization. Thus, an inter-regional comparison clearly suggests that all regions have met the global challenge in their own specific way, that is with a particular mixture of positive and negative responses, and with some characteristic side effects.1
The global crisis broke out 'externally' when the 'internal' institutional crisis in the EU reach... more The global crisis broke out 'externally' when the 'internal' institutional crisis in the EU reached its peak. In addition, the new member states were still in the post-accession crisis. These three types of 'crises' can be observed: first, a deep systemic crisis is ongoing in the global world; second, the creative crisis is the usual way of development in the EU; and finally third, the serious problems, disturbances, troubles in the new member states are transitory as the unavoidable contradiction of Europeanisation within the EU. Nonetheless, in the deepening-widening relationship, the new members are the main losers of the triple crisis, since the global financial crisis has broken out when they have been in their most vulnerable situation, so it deteriorates significantly their efforts to catch up and reach 'effective membership'. Two alternative scenarios can be outlined: (1) the 'post-communist track' and (2) the 'completing the membership' scenario. The first scenario has been based on the 'Prague-Vladivostok doctrine', which presupposes that these 'post-communist countries' are basically of the same nature from Prague to Vladivostok and due to the burden of history they are doomed to fail in the process of catching up in the EU. The completing the membership scenario has been based on the Europeanisation process, which indicates that the new member states can reach effective membership by 2015. All in all, a new kind of controversial progress has begun, since the global economic and social crisis with new dangers and new opportunities has accelerated the necessary domestic reforms in the new member states. 1
The article examines the ups and downs of Hungaryʹs accession to the European Union. It considers... more The article examines the ups and downs of Hungaryʹs accession to the European Union. It considers Europeanization as a process parallel to EU accession, and uses key terms accordingly. Hungaryʹs development in the 1990s is thus described as ʺanticipatory Europeanizationʺ, the more concrete EU perspective taken up in 1998 as ʺadaptive Europeanizationʺ, the years between 1998 and 2002 are labeled as ʺderailed Europe-anizationʺ, and the years after the actual EU accession as ʺpost-accession crisisʺ. Much of this analysis focuses on the central government, but also includes developments on the sub-national, i.e. meso-and micro-levels of Hungarian public administration. The conclusion offers an outlook for the imminent future, as Hungary prepares for assuming the EU presidency in 2011.
The dramatic decline of democracy in East-Central Europe (ECE) has attracted great interest world... more The dramatic decline of democracy in East-Central Europe (ECE) has attracted great interest worldwide, both in the circle of leading politicians and among social scientists. Going beyond the usual narrow spectrum of the extensive literature on this topic, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of the ECE region, covering the three big social subsystemsthe socioeconomic , legal-political and cultural-civilizational dimensions-in their interactions to explain the reasons for the collapse of ECE democratic systems in the 2010s. The book does not deal with the individual ECE countries-the Czech Republic (CZ), Hungary (HU), Poland (PL), Slovakia (SK) and Slovenia (SI)-separately, but outlines the general features and the historical trajectory of the ECE region in last 30 years, from the very beginning of systemic change in 1989 until the end of 2018, in the two big stages of 'chaotic democracy' and 'authoritarian populism', with a turning point around 2010. Finally, starting from the decline in democracy, the book indicates the perspectives for democracy renewal in ECE in the period of the New World Order and the continued federalization of the EU. This Introduction gives the theoretical summary of the whole book, the 'bare bones' or description of its conceptual framework and basic terms in outline, focusing on Europeanization and democratization in ECE. It turns against the 'Western fallacy' as an easy dream of creating a carbon copy of the West through a relatively short and painless evolutionary catching-up process. My earlier books (Ágh, 1998a, 1998b) were written in a rather optimistic mood about the enormous historical progressive transformations in ECE in the years of democratic transition when the focus was on the big legal-constitutional transformations. No doubt the Great Transformation-using the term of Karl Polanyi ([1944] 2001)-in ECE has meant a progressive historical turning point for Euro-Atlantic integration, as has been discussed in a literature of library size. But this
All ECE countries have covered the same historical trajectory of ‘the third-generation autocracy’... more All ECE countries have covered the same historical trajectory of ‘the third-generation autocracy’, but Hungary has been reaching its ‘perfection’, since the two-thirds, constitutional supermajority in the Hungarian case has allowed for the Orbán regime to complete this ‘reverse wave’ in all fields of society and turning it into a zombie democracy. The conceptual frame of this paper is that the decline of democracy and the turn to autocratisation can be presented in ECE in the three big stages of the Easy Dream, Chaotic Democracy and Neoliberal Autocracy in the three corresponding decades. The paper concentrates on the third stage in its three shorter periods taking 3–4 years as the DeDemocratisation, Autocratisation and DeEuropeanisation. The Hungarian case has been presented in this paper in a comparative ECE view as its worst-case scenario that also sheds light on the parallel developments in the fellow ECE countries.
Globalization has become a magic word in the last decades, first of all after the collapse of the... more Globalization has become a magic word in the last decades, first of all after the collapse of the bipolar world order. It has been understood in many ways and in many fields as if the so called ‘Global Challenge’ had acted as an omnipotent and omnipresent force - inevitably and with the same consequences everywhere (see, Waterman 1996 and Power 1997). When we discuss, however, the transformation of East Central Europe (ECE - Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia) in an inter-regional comparison, we can identify both its ambiguous, dual (positive and negative) effects and indirect consequences or side-effects. It must also be emphasized that globalization has increased the parallel and counterbalancing processes of regionalization. Thus, an inter-regional comparison clearly suggests that all regions have met the global challenge in their own specific way, that is with a particular mixture of positive and negative responses, and with some characteristic side effects.1
In the early 2020s we live in a transition period between two world systems, the Old World Order ... more In the early 2020s we live in a transition period between two world systems, the Old World Order (OWO) and the New World Order (NWO). It is not by chance that the term of transformation has recently appeared in the official EU documents as well as in the political science literature. Karl Polányi introduced the term of the Great Transformation in the 1940s and his followers elaborated the theory of the world system in great detail. This theory conceptualizes a longer period of several decades for the world systems with their well-regulated world order. After the collapse of the Soviet empire the Bipolar World Order (BWO) ended and the Old World Order (OWO) began, while the New Great Transformation (NGT) has recently meant the transition from OWO to NWO, since the pandemic and the Ukrainian war have provoked a full-blown transformation as the current systemic change in the global world.
All ECE countries have covered the same historical trajectory of "the third-generation autocracy"... more All ECE countries have covered the same historical trajectory of "the third-generation autocracy", but Hungary has been reaching its "perfection", since the two-thirds, constitutional supermajority in the Hungarian case has allowed for the Orbán regime to complete this "reverse wave" in all fields of society and turning it to a zombie democracy. The conceptual frame of this paper is that the decline of democracy and the turn to autocratization can be presented in ECE in the three big stages of the Easy Dream, Chaotic Democracy and Neoliberal Autocracy in the three corresponding decades. The paper concentrates on the third stage in its three shorter periods taking 3-4 years as the De-Democratization, Autocratization and De-Europeanization. The Hungarian case has been presented in this paper in a comparative ECE view as its worstcase scenario that shows light also on the parallel developments in the fellow ECE countries.
From the early 2010s the East Central European countries have developed the "thirdgeneration auto... more From the early 2010s the East Central European countries have developed the "thirdgeneration autocracies". They have introduced these autocracies through the "democracy capture" with a large deviation from the EU mainstream. Compared to the previous traditional types of autocracies the third-generation autocracy has produced radical innovations with the parallel developments of the formally democratic and informally autocratic forms in the institution-building. They have created a democratic façade of the formal-constitutional institutions and have also made big efforts for the drastic control of the informal institutions, in the media, culture and communication. This paper deals with the three stages of autocratization in the last thirty years in ECE, and it focuses on the recent stage from the early 2010s in its three shorter periods.
The close relationships between the European identity and the national identity has been an age o... more The close relationships between the European identity and the national identity has been an age old, central topic of public discourse in Hungary. At the same time, it has always been a very controversial issue since Hungary has been moving in cycles historically between the catching up and backsliding periods, so it has also been moving between the optimistic "Europeanization-centric" and pessimistic "Nation-centric" thinking. Second, with the galloping modernization some contradictions have emerged in the increasing policy fields, since there has been a successful catching up process in some policies, whereas in other fields Hungary has been lagging behind. Above all Hungary has produced well developed "European" cities and backward countryside, being two worlds apart with different world views. The main message of this paper is that Hungary after thirty years of catching up period has entered, again, the backsliding period in Europeanization, since the processes of "De-Democratization" and "De-Europeanization" have begun in the 2010s. This drastic U-turn characterizes the present narratives about Europe, although still with strong emotional attachment to the European culture and history. However, in the last years, the new global crisis management has opened new perspectives in the EU that may be the start of the new historical cycle in Hungary turning also towards a new Europeanization narrative after the "recovery".
This is an "open end" long paper written as a Central European message in the midst of the corona... more This is an "open end" long paper written as a Central European message in the midst of the coronavirus crisis about the emerging New World System (NWO) with a manifest interest in East-Central Europe. The ECE region in particular, and the new member states (NMS) in general, shows the ongoing worldwide triple crisis-the cumulated socioeconomic , climate and coronavirus crisis-like the ocean in a drop of water. My long paper serves for the preparation of a book on the historical trajectory of the new member states within the EU with its successes and failures. It goes through a theoretical analysis from the emergence of the New World Order with the ensuing transformations of the European Union leading finally to the presentation of the fragile, half-made Europeanization of NMS resulting in a socioeconomic disintegration and autocratization with a civilizational crisis. Thus, this paper deals first with the reconceptualization of the world system due to the present systemic crisis due to the current change of world systems between the Old World Order (OWO) and the New World Order (NWO), as the rethinking the international relations (IR) discipline in general. It is followed in the second part by the case of the EU searching for a new role in the emerging NWO. Third, the paper tries to outline the negative externalities of the EU in the NMS leading to the increasing Core-Periphery Divide and to the downward spiral in the Eastern enlargement. This controversial process of Europeanization has culminated in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, therefore the paper concludes with a short report about this unpresented crisis with its devastating consequences for the NMS and the opportunity for the European renewal.
This paper treats East-Central Europe as a region and investigates its common historical trajecto... more This paper treats East-Central Europe as a region and investigates its common historical trajectory in the last decades. After 30 years of systemic change and 15 years of the EU membership, it is high time for the re-evaluation and reconceptualization of the Europeanization and Democratization process in ECE. It is the key to understand the false start as the original sin in democratization and the reasons of the ECE divergence from the mainstream EU developments in order to prepare the redemocratization process. The progress of Europeanization and Democratization process in ECE has been widely described in the official documents, but for a balanced and complete picture it is necessary to present also the De-Europeanization and De-Democratization process from the very beginning. Basically, after the collapse of the bipolar world order in 1989 the Eastern enlargement was an economic and political necessity as the substantial part of the EU deepening and widening policy. The EU needed the extension of its economic space and political system that had also been pre-programmed in the mission statement of Rome Treaty. At the same time, the new member states (NMS) needed the "Return to Europe" for their reintegration into the Western world. However, the capacity for this extension was actually missing on both sides, and it has remained so during the last 30 years of the systemic change or the 15 years of EU membership. Altogether, this controversial process has produced a colourful picture of successes and failures in all NMS that will be analysed in an ECE context.
Uploads
Papers by Attila Ágh