The Political Economy of Populist Rule in Post-Crisis Europe: Hungary and Poland

Toplisek, Alen

Abstract

This paper analyses the economic dimension of populist governance in post-crisis Europe by exploring whether and in what ways populist economic policies diverge from neoliberal orthodoxy. Existing literature on contemporary populism in Central and Eastern Europe is ambivalent on this question and lacks systematic analyses of populist economic policies while in government. The comparative analysis of the Fidesz-led government in Hungary and the Law and Justice government in Poland is used to analyse the policy shifts in different domains. The main claim is that a combination of both domestic ideological change at the level of government and transnationally conditioned structural factors need to be considered to explain the shift towards and the variation in the pursuit of a ‘heterodox’ economic strategy under the two populist governments. The paper concludes by offering a reflection on why the analysed policy changes do not correspond with a more decisive shift towards an alternative trajectory of capitalist development in post-crisis Europe.

Citation

Toplisek, A. (2019). The Political Economy of Populist Rule in Post-Crisis Europe: Hungary and Poland. New Political Economy, 25(3), 388-403. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2019.1598960

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Mar 29, 2019
• Publication Date: Mar 29, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 17, 2019
• Journal: New Political Economy
• Print ISSN: 1356-3467
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9923
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 388-403
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2019.1598960
• Keywords: Populism, political economy, Central and Eastern Europe, post-neoliberalism