Central European Business Review 2021, 10(2):63-83 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.281

The Antidemocratic Drift in the Early 21st Century: Some Thoughts on its Roots, Dynamics and Prospects

Marek Dabrowski ORCID...¹

¹ Non-Resident Fellow at Bruegel in Brussels; Professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow; Fellow at CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research in Warsaw; CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research, Warsaw, Poland, marek.dabrowski@case-research.eu

In the first two decades of the 21st century, the previous democratization progress was partly reversed. It is well seen in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe but also in other geographic regions. In search for causes of this warning trend, many authors point out economic factors such as economic stagnation, unemployment, inequality, consequences of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 and side-effects of globalization. Not negating the role of economic factors, it is important, however, to see noneconomic determinants such as immature political institutions and their dysfunctionality, nationalism and cultural prejudices, and side-effects of the ICT revolution, which destroyed traditional media and public debate. The antidemocratic drift is dangerous not only for political and civil freedom but also has a negative impact on economic governance, making economies less open and competitive and easy victims of oligarchic predation (‘crony’ capitalism).

Keywords: market economy; democracy; economic freedom; political freedom; autocracy; post-communist transition; ICT revolution

JEL classification: K40, P20, P26, P30, P37

Received: February 23, 2021; Revised: April 23, 2021; Accepted: May 19, 2021; Prepublished online: May 27, 2021; Published: June 1, 2021  Show citation