A Társadalomtudományi Kutatóközpont (MTA Kiváló Kutatóhely) 

Szociológiai Intézete a Democracy Institute, Inequality Working Group együttműködésével

tisztelettel meghívja 112. Jour Fixe eseményére

 

Gerő Márton: The role and use of civil society in political cleavage formation under populist rule: The Hungarian, Polish, and Israeli case

 

Előadó: Gerő Márton (TK SZI)

Hozzászolók: Susánszky Pál (TK PTI), Mikecz Dániel (PTI)

Időpont: 2023. február 16. csütörtök 13:00 

Helyszín: Az eseményt hibrid formában tartjuk meg.

Személyesen: Közép-Európai Egyetem (Central European University) 1051 Budapest, Nádor utca 15., 2. emelet 203-as terem

Online: Zoom link: 

https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/93873628347?pwd=OW5BVlA5UTcwUGk5YlZZMXlQRTVFUT09

Meeting ID: 938 7362 8347

Passcode: 977376

Absztrakt 

One of the most striking developments of the last 15 years in politics is the rise of populist politicians to power in democratic countries. This tendency goes hand in hand with democratic erosion since populists in power often attempt to empty democratic institutions, occupy the media and cut independent social and political actors from their resources, to maintain their rule. Their rise to power and legitimising the reshaping of political institutions require strong popular support. This support is gained through transforming political cleavages: increasing political polarization and the increasing role of identity politics.

In this paper I examine, what is the role of civil society in the transformation of political cleavages, fostering or counterbalancing political polarization. In doing so, I will depart from the recent focus of research on civil society, often discussing, whether civil society can act as a saviour of democracy racy, or focusing on civil society’s reaction to the attacks from governments. Instead, I investigate, how civil society contributes to, or counterbalances political polarization, and the changes in political cleavages during times when populist actors are in power.

In this paper, civil society as a concept is used in two different approaches: civil society as a discourse, and civil society as a pool of actors (formal organizations and social movements) fulfilling a formal definition of non-state, non-economic actors. As an empirical base, I examine three cases: Hungary, Poland and Israel, between 2010 and 2020, reviewing the current state of the discourse on civil society, and examining civil society actors based on interviews and document analysis. 

Az esemény magyar nyelvű nyelvű!