ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the significance and potential consequences of illiberal politics for the Visegrád Group’s (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) role as a regional integration platform. Moreover, links between Europeanization and V4 geopolitical identity will be explored as part of investigating discursive framings of Central Europe’s “illiberalism.” I suggest that illiberal regionalism is a useful concept in that it problematizes political and popular narrations of East-West difference as competing projects of Europeanization. I will also argue that instead of a fundamental regional illiberalism what we find is an unstable, temporally limited and contingent constellation of political and social agendas. Illiberal regionalism can thus be read as strategic, aguably opportunistic, contestations of EU policies that reflect economic, political, and social uncertainties. Tensions involved in this regionalist shift are exemplified by “revolutionary” Hungarian and Polish national conservative agendas and their interaction with the more measured pragmatism of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is also clear that illiberal regionalism reflects the reciprocal and interdependent nature of the V4’s political relations within the EU. Benefits of EU membership, such as leveraging and enhancing national status, continue to act as powerful counter-currents to more radical projects that would, for example, contest Euro-Atlantic alignments.

摘要

本文讨论了非自由政治对维谢格拉德集团（捷克、匈牙利、波兰和斯洛伐克）作为区域一体化平台的作用的重要性和潜在后果。此外，作为调查中欧“非自由主义”的话语框架的一部分，将探讨欧洲化与 V4 地缘政治身份之间的联系。我认为非自由的区域主义是一个有用的概念，因为它将东西方差异的政治和大众叙述问题化为欧洲化的竞争项目。我还将争辩说，我们发现的不是根本性的区域非自由主义，而是不稳定的、时间有限的和偶然的政治和社会议程。因此，非自由主义区域主义可以被解读为战略性的、可以说是机会主义的、对反映经济、政治、和社会的不确定性。这种地区主义转变所涉及的紧张局势体现在“革命性”匈牙利和波兰民族保守主义议程及其与捷克共和国和斯洛伐克更为审慎的实用主义的互动中。同样明显的是，狭隘的区域主义反映了欧盟内部 V4 政治关系的互惠和相互依存的性质。加入欧盟的好处，例如利用和提高国家地位，继续对更激进的项目起到强大的逆流作用，例如，挑战欧洲-大西洋结盟。同样明显的是，狭隘的区域主义反映了欧盟内部 V4 政治关系的互惠和相互依存的性质。加入欧盟的好处，例如利用和提高国家地位，继续对更激进的项目起到强大的逆流作用，例如，挑战欧洲-大西洋结盟。同样明显的是，狭隘的区域主义反映了欧盟内部 V4 政治关系的互惠和相互依存的性质。加入欧盟的好处，例如利用和提高国家地位，继续对更激进的项目起到强大的逆流作用，例如，挑战欧洲-大西洋结盟。