POLITICAL CHANGES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL REGRESSION OF DEMOCRACY

ABSTRACT

The article describes political changes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that are members of the European Union against the background of the global condition of democracy. The frame of reference are selected results of the Economist Democracy Index 2020 report examining the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on political changes in the world, considering some conclusions from the previous publications of the ranking. The theoretical premises and methodology of the Democracy Index are presented, including the typology of political systems as a tool for classifying the countries covered by the study into one of the four types of the systems compared full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime and authoritarian regime. The strengths and weaknesses of the Democracy Index have characterized as well as the symptoms of the global decline of democracy. Changes in the values of the Index indicators in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe between 2006 and 2020 are analysed. The summary shows the ambivalence of the directions of political changes in the region.