FATIGUE - Delayed Transformational Fatigue in Central and Eastern Europe: Responding to the Rise of lliberalism/Populism

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FATIGUE kodulehekülg.

The aim of FATIGUE is to develop theoretically and empirically robust explanations for the causes and consequences of rise of illiberalism and authoritarianism in post-communist Europe (and Europe, more generally) with reference to the concept of 'delayed transformational fatigue'. The project will seek to answer the following questions: i. Why do illiberal political discourses resonate with people in post-communist Europe? ii. With which types of people do illiberal discourses particularly resonate? iii. Under which social, economic and political circumstances are illiberal discourses most likely to gain traction? iv. How do illiberal political actors make their views of the world hegemonic? Which social, political and economic conditions of possibility enable such hegemonic worldviews to dominate political discourse?

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
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    The deadly fate of Romanian politics
    (2021-11) Chiruta, Ionut
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    Reinventing ways to preserve Easter traditions in Czechia and Romania
    (2022) del Tronco, Carlos Gómez; Chiruta, Ionut Valentin
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    Challenging the rule of law in Romania: the metamorphosis of political discourse towards populism
    (2021) Chiruta, Ionut
    This article is an exploratory analysis of the political style of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD), which despite being a mainstream centre-left party, has shifted from a latent to a crystalized populist rhetoric. Using qualitative content analysis of party speeches and press statements from 2015-2019, the article shows how the political style of the party becomes more populist when the domestic justice system begins to pressure leading PSD politicians. The data reveal an intersection between populist rhetoric and institutionalist discourse when PSD is trying to amend the rule of law institutions.
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    The Representation of Roma in the Romanian Media During COVID-19: Performing Control Through Discursive-Performative Repertoires
    (2021-06) Chiruta, Ionut
    This article investigates the narratives employed by the Romanian media in covering the development of COVID-19 in Roma communities in Romania. This paper aims to contribute to academic literature on Romani studies, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, by adopting as its case study the town of T¸ a˘ nda˘ rei, a small town in the south of Romania, which in early 2020 was widely reported by Romanian media during both the pre- and post-quarantine period. The contributions rest on anchoring the study in postfoundational theory and media studies to understand the performativity of Roma identity and the discursive-performative practices of control employed by the Romania media in the first half of 2020. Aroused by the influx of ethnic Romani returning from Western Europe, the Romanian mainstream media expanded its coverage through sensationalist narratives and depictions of lawlessness and criminality. These branded the ethnic minority as a scapegoat for the spreading of the virus. Relying on critical social theory, this study attempts to understand how Roma have been portrayed during the Coronavirus crisis. Simultaneously, this paper resonates with current Roma theories about media discourses maintaining and reinforcing a sense of marginality for Roma communities. To understand the dynamics of Romanian media discourses, this study employs NVivo software tools and language-in-use discourse analysis to examine the headlines and sub headlines of approximately 300 articles that have covered COVID-19 developments in Roma communities between February and July 2020. The findings from the study indicate that the media first focused on exploiting the sensationalism of the episodes involving Roma. Second, the media employed a logic of polarization to assist the authorities in retaking control of the pandemic and health crisis from Romania. The impact of the current study underlines the need to pay close attention to the dynamics of crises when activating historical patterns of stigma vis-à-vis Roma communities in Eastern Europe.
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    A Taste of Georgia. Far Right Populism with a Unique Georgian Flavour
    (2020) Cole, Michael
    Georgia has proved no exception to recent political trends which have seen the increased prominence and influence of far right populist parties and movements purporting to represent ‘the people’ in an antagonistic struggle against the ‘elites’ or ‘enemies’. However, while a great deal of academic attention has been devoted to cases in Central and Western Europe (CWE), studies of Georgian far right populism are much less common. Therefore, this paper first examines the political styles of two Georgian far right actors, the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia (APG) and Georgian March (GM). I argue that the populist discursive frames both employ demonstrates enough commonalities with their CWE counterparts to consider them members of the far-right populist ‘family’. However, the prevalence of populist ways of ‘doing politics’, highly influential role of ‘traditional values’ promoted by the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), and influence of Russia, are three important factors which produce a uniquely Georgian ‘flavour’ to far right populist movements in Georgia.