AUTHORITARIAN REVIVAL IN SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE: ORIGINS AND TRENDS

Introduction. The democratic transition theory assures us that the inevitable result of regime transformations is the transition to democracy. However, one of the most important political tendencies of our time is a certain strengthening of authoritarian elements in the political regimes of the world. This trend is not global so far, but it is important to understand how local specificity affects the processes of democratization. The article considers regime transformations using the evidence of the countries of South-Eastern Europe. Materials and methods: The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the neo-institutional approach, which makes it possible to assess the interaction and interweaving of formal and informal “rules of the game”. The authors turn to comparative and historical-descriptive methods to analyze the problems of democracy in the Balkans. The given methods also allow the authors to present a qualitative analysis of the statistical data of the countries in question, to reveal the structural elements of regime transformations. Research Result. The authors have identified several factors that contribute to the strengthening of authoritarian regime practices in the countries of South-Eastern Europe. This is the devaluation of parliamentary institutions, the politicization of ethnicity, the demographic stratification of groups that are key to the long-term stability of political regimes. In addition to internal obstacles to the democratization of the regimes of the given countries, there are also external factors, such as the negative impact of the European integration processes, which implies the priority of the stability of regimes over their democratization. The situation of consolidation of democratic regimes being hampered by internal and external factors is not something exceptional, nor should the significance of the given factors of securing authoritarian political practices be underestimated either. Discussions and conclusions. The identified factors of strengthening authoritarianism in the countries of South-Eastern Europe cannot be explained only with the help of theories of political regimes, since external players are involved in the process of regime transformations. The identification of the reasons for what is happening in the analyzed countries is probably connected not only with the regime, but also with the regional post-imperial transformations. It is the post-imperial heritage that determines in the given countries multicultural and multiethnic relations, the increased role of violence in the self-identification process, as well as a specific demand for a “strong hand”.

democratic transition, authoritarianism, the Balkans, political transformation

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