Informal power in Hungary and Poland

Edit Zgut-Przybylska

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040834329
• Subtopic: Democracy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book is about the nature of informal governmental power in Hungary and Poland. It highlights the key differences and similarities between the Orbán regime and the Kaczy?ski regime to show how they make societies dependent on the ruling elite. The monograph explains how the coercive practices of these governments could avoid scrutiny of the European Union (EU) and unpacks the underlying reasons for the ineffectiveness of the EU in the context of the changing geopolitical environment and the war in Ukraine.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface/Acknowledgements
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Informal power, democratic backsliding, and the constraining role of the EU
• 3. Authoritarian remodelling in Hungary and Poland
• 4. Informal power in action
• 5. Two faces of informal power: Systemic differences
• 6. The constraining role of the EU: A decade of appeasement
• 7. Conclusion and recommendations for the European Union
• Appendix
• Index