Autocratization in Post-Communist Democracies

This book explains how democracy unravels from within. It develops a clear conceptual and comparative framework to trace autocratization, understood as the process through which elected leaders weaken checks and balances, neutralize opposition, and entrench dominant-party control while keeping democratic institutions formally intact. Through a detailed comparison of Hungary and Macedonia, the book shows how right-wing populist leaders combined nationalism and grievance politics to justify institutional manipulation and the creation of informal networks of control. These networks gradually fused into a single pyramid of power, subordinating courts, media, and business sectors to the ruling elite. While Hungary consolidated competitive authoritarian rule, Macedonia s regime collapsed, exposing the fragility of such systems but without achieving decisive redemocratization. Applying its framework to Serbia, Poland, the United States, India, and Turkey, the book offers a broader and empirically grounded understanding of how modern autocratization reshapes democratic institutions, trajectories, and norms across diverse political contexts.