Depleting Democracies

Rezensionen / Stimmen

CHOICE: Recommended

'The book's genuine contribution lies in a broad yet nuanced analysis of the democratic consequences of right-wing radical parties. While most studies in this area focus on one aspect, Minkenberg and Vegh examine the effects of RRP [Radical Right Parties] at three different system levels. First, they show that the substantive positions of strong RRPs are permanently adopted by mainstream parties with programmatically close ties (position shifts). The authors then examine the level of policymaking. Here, too, they attest to RRPs' demonstrable influence on the decisions of incumbent governments in the areas of minority, asylum, and migration policy (policy shifts). Finally, they also establish a clear connection between the strength of right-wing radical parties and the decline in the quality of democracy, measured using V-Dem data (polity shift).'
Von Florian Grotz, Jahrbuch Extremismus & Demokratie (Extremism & Democracy)

'Illiberal tendencies in Eastern Europe have long extended beyond the periphery of the party system in contrast to Western European democracies. The policy positions of many governments there result from political processes shaped by the ultranationalist politics of the radical right, which infiltrated the political mainstream well before continent-wide shocks such as the 2015 migration crisis. From this starting point, Depleting Democracies brings Eastern Europe back onto the map of comparative research, offering a timely and comprehensive analysis of the radical right in seven states. Challenging the dominant party system convergence paradigm, it makes a compelling case for studying the region as distinct [...] an in-depth mosaic approach in analysing contextual factors that influence the trajectory of democratic erosion is much needed at a time when the risk of liberal transitional democracies transforming into authoritarian regimes is real.'
Mila Moshelova, Slavonic and East European Review -- .