Topic outline

  • General

  • 1. Course Introduction (21 February)

    • topic and requirements to the exam
    • introducing the concept of Central Europe
  • 2. Catching up with the West (28 February)

    • democratic transition (1989) and post-communism

    • European Union accession (2004) and the Europeanization process

  • 3. Political Culture of CE (7 March)

    • main political features of the democracies within the CE region

    • patterns of participation and trust

  • 4. Building a Civil Society (14 March)

    • associational sphere under communist regime 
    • challenges of post-communist civil society, foreign funding
    • the case of environmental NGOs in the pre-accession period
  • 5. NGOs and Activism (21 March)

    • current trends in the civic sector: professionalization of NGOs vs. informal activism, networking, anti-Soros sentiments
  • 6. The public sphere and democracy (28 March)

    • public sphere and deliberative democracy, mass mediated political communication, Europeanization of national public spheres

  • 7. Reading week and midterm test (4 April)

    Lecture-free week for catching up with literature and completing the midterm test (via Moodle). 

  • 8. Lecture canceled! (11 April)

  • 9. Deans’ holiday (Easter, 18 April)

    Happy Easter!

    • Submit your topic for final essay till 24 April. List five academic resources you plan to use. 

      You are welcome to use background readings listed in the syllabus. Five compulsory readings from this course (Devaux, Howard, Koopmans, Kundera, Polanska) are possible to use but not counted. 

  • 10. Democratic Backsliding (25 April)

    • the illiberal turn in Central Europe, democratic backsliding, threats to democracy
    • Important context:

      On the 12th of September, the European Parliament (EP) took an unprecedented step of triggering a disciplinary procedure against Hungary. EP voted on the so called Sargentini Report, condemning the anti-democratic turn of Hungary and initiating the procedure related to Article 7 (1) of the Treaty. The sanctions that may follow would be the strongest action the EU can take when there is a clear risk that a Member State is seriously breaching fundamental values such as democracy, the rule of law or respect for human rights.

    • Read the article and watch the video below. Then, elaborate on these questions (min. 300-word length altogether):

      1. Who are the "new xenophobes" of the Visegrád group? 
      2. What are the main arguments in Orbán's speech?
      3. What's your judgement of Orbán? What impression does he make on you? 

      Also include 3 questions for discussion! 

      Due by April 10 (Wed), 12:00 (noon). You can write directly into a text editor here, or upload a text file.

  • 11. Nationalism and politicization of EU (2 May)

    • Euroscepticism and Eurocriticism in Central Europe

    • nationalism
    • politicization of Europe

    • the recent case of the “Refugee crisis” / “Schengen crisis”

  • 12. Populism (9 May)

    • forms and types of populism

    • Hungarian Case (Orbán)

    • This time, you do not have to read or watch anything. Just give us your thoughts on the following questions (min. 300-word length altogether):

      1. What is populism in your point of view? How would you define it? Can you name some examples?
      2. Does populism in CE differ from the West? What are the common features and what are the differences between them?
      3. How does populism threaten liberal democracy? And is it really a threat?

      Do not forget to include your own 3 questions for discussion! 

      Due by May 8 (Wed), 12:00 (noon). You can write directly into a text editor here, or upload a text file.

  • 13. Gender and Feminism (16 May)

    • feminism in CE
    • the case of the Black Protest
    • anti-gender movement
    • This time, your task is not so much related to the upcoming lecture. We want to ask you to write a commentary on the subject of the whole course - Central Europe. Considering the topics of the lectures, do you think it is reasonable to use the concept of Central Europe? Or is it outdated and irrelevant? What are the common features of CE today? Have you changed your view on CE during the course? (300 words)

      Regarding the next topic of gender and feminism, please formulate three discussion questions or your own queries you are wondering about. What would you like to know about this topic in the context of CE?

  • Final test and Essay submission