Cultural Policies in European Autocratizing Democracies: Hungary and Poland as Case Studies

This thesis examines the phenomenon of democratic backsliding - more accurately described as autocratisation - as it manifests within contemporary cultural policy frameworks in Europe, as recent electoral trends indicate rising support for right-wing populist parties. Building on the theoretical foundations of autocratization (Lührmann and Lindberg) and international datasets on democratic practices (V-Dem, Freedom House), the thesis argues that democratic governments show a recurrent pattern of 'de-democratization' through culture. Within this broader context, the thesis focuses on cultural policy as a critical arena in which illiberal tendencies become both visible and operational. Drawing on the work of Zamorano and Bonet (2020), it contrasts the normative principles of cultural policy in liberal democracies with the practices observed in illiberal settings. The analysis highlights how illiberal regimes strategically adopt the rhetoric and tools of cultural democratisation while redirecting them towards nationalist, exclusionary, and loyalty-building ends. Through centralisation, censorship, and the selective promotion of ideologically aligned cultural expressions, cultural participation becomes a means of legitimising a singular definition of 'the people' marginalising minority communities, and reinforcing political control. The thesis further analyses two European countries - Hungary and Poland - to study show the mechanisms that lead to the implementation of illiberal cultural policies.