Political conflict, social inequality and electoral cleavages in Central-Eastern Europe, 1990-2018

Pre-print, Working paper: This paper analyses the electoral cleavages in three Central European countries countries-the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland-since the fall of communism until today. In all three countries, the left has seen a prolonged decline in support. On the other hand, the "populist" parties increased their support and recently attained power in each country. We relate this to specific trajectories of post-communist transition. Former communist parties in Hungary and Poland transformed themselves into socialdemocratic parties. These parties' pro-market policies prevented them from establishing themselves predominantly among a lower-income electorate. Meanwhile, the liberal right in the Czech Republic and Poland became representative of both high-income and high-educated voters. This has opened up space for populist parties and influenced their character, assuming more 'nativist' outlook in Poland and Hungary and more 'centrist' in the Czech Republic.

Author(s)

Attila Lindner, Filip Novokmet, Thomas Piketty, Tomasz Zawisza

Date of publication
  • 2020
Internal reference
  • World Inequality Lab Working Papers n°2020-25
Version
  • 1