We must go beyond the backsliding paradigm to understand what’s happening to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

The issue of democratic backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe has received substantial attention in recent years, and many observers are now concerned the coronavirus crisis could exacerbate the problem. Licia Cianetti and Seán Hanley write that while there are genuine threats to democracy in countries like Hungary and Poland, viewing the entire region through the lens of ‘backsliding’ may obscure more than it reveals.