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This book is the product of three years of empirical research, four years in politics, and a lifetime in a country experiencing three different regimes. Transcending disciplinary boundaries, it provides a fresh answer to a simple yet profound question: why has liberal democracy retreated?
Scheiring argues that Hungary's new hybrid authoritarian regime emerged as a political response to the tensions of globalisation. He demonstrates how Viktor Orbán's Fidesz exploited the rising nationalism among the working-class casualties of deindustrialisation and the national bourgeoisie to consolidate illiberal hegemony.
As the world faces a new wave of autocratisation, Hungary's lessons become relevant across the globe, and this book represents a significant contribution to understanding challenges to democracy. This work will be useful to students and researchers across political sociology, political science, economics and social anthropology, as well democracy advocates.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. The Political Economy of Illiberalism.- 3. The Competition State.- 4. International Integration, Domestic Disintegration.- 5. Workers and Neo-Nationalism.- 6. National Bourgeoisie and Economic Nationalism.- 7. The Accumulative State.- 8. Conclusions
About the author
Gabor Scheiring is a Marie Curie Fellow at Bocconi University, Milan. His research focuses on the political economy of health, the human price of globalisation and the role of class in illiberalism. He served as a member of the Hungarian Parliament between 2010-2014.
Report
"The book provides a fresh and thought-provoking political-economic theory of the newly emerged autocracy in Hungary. ... I highly recommend reading this book, because The Retreat of Liberal Democracy offers a compelling theory of authoritarian capitalism in Hungary. This work will be an important reference for future debates on the recent trend of democratic backsliding in the world." (David Jancsics, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 128 (1), July, 2022)
"A carefully crafted narrative that expertly highlights the interplay between domestic politics and the dynamics of dependent development in the context of the contemporary global economy. Although this book focuses specifically on the case of Hungary, Scheiring's account will be of general interest to scholars studying topics related to the recent surge in right-wing politics across the globe." (Adam Slez, Social Forces, August 9, 2021)
