Entering the ‘post-shame era’: the rise of illiberal democracy, populism and neo-authoritarianism in EUrope
political science
Description
Entering the ‘post-shame era’: the rise of illiberal democracy, populism and neo-authoritarianism in EUrope
The term ‘illiberal democracy’, coined by Fareed Zakaria in 1997, has gained much traction,
specifically since its use by Hungarian Prime Minster Victor Orbán in 2014. Ever since,
Orbán and his governing party Fidesz have been implementing this vision resulting in major
cutdowns on free speech, freedom of press, of various NGOs which support human rights,
and so forth. Moreover, Fidesz won the 2018 national election with a strong focus on antiimmigration policies. Although Orbán’s restrictive migration policies were widely criticised
during the so-called refugee crisis 2015, many EU member states have started to follow the
Hungarian policy of closing borders and protecting the EU from asylum-seekers and an
alleged invasion by Muslims. Hence, I claim that formerly taboo subjects and expressions in
mainstream discourse are being accepted more and more (‘normalisation’). Such normalisation
goes hand in hand with a certain ‘shamelessness’: the limits of the sayable are shifting regarding
both the frequency of lies and the violating of discourse conventions – as well as regarding
repeated attacks on central democratic institutions. Normalising the assessment of migrants
as a threat to inner security and a burden on the welfare state and education system must be
perceived as an international development – generally instrumentalising a ‘politics of fear’.
Key words Illiberalism • authoritarianism • identity politics • dialogue • anti-politics •
critical discourse studies • Austria • Austrian Freedom Party • metaphor • argumentation •
euphemism
Introduction
On 17 July 2018, former US president Barack Obama was invited to give the Nelson
Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg. In his speech, he warned that:
a politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment began to appear, and that
kind of politics is now on the move … I am not being alarmist, I am simply
stating the facts. … Strongman politics are ascendant suddenly, whereby
elections and some pretence of democracy are maintained – the form of
it – but those in power seek to undermine every institution or norm that
gives democracy meaning.1
