After almost three decades of transition, Slovakia—a full-fledged member of the EU and NATO—now faces serious challenges to its liberal democracy. These includes the illiberal tendencies of those in power, clientelism, political corruption, and antiestablishment sentiment among the public. Meanwhile, the rise of right-wing extremist parties that leverage existing social problems for political gain, capitalize on the pan-European issue of migration, and cast doubt on Slovakia’s foreign-policy orientation has elicited a prodemocratic response from an alliance of the country’s civil society, independent media, and pro-Western politicians.
About the Authors
Grigorij Mesežnikov
Grigorij Mesežnikov is president and cofounder of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) in Slovakia. He is a regular contributor to Slovak and foreign media and served as key author of the report on Slovakia for Freedom House’s Nations in Transit series from 1998 to 2014.
Ol’ga Gyárfášová is a director at the Institute of European Studies and International Relations at Comenius University in Bratislava and senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO).
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