The aim of the article is to analyse the assessment of Hungary presented in two democracy’s indices: the Freedom in the World Index and the Bertelsmann Stiffung Index in years 2010 - 2016. The research problem is to identify which of the elements shaping the democracy in Hungary in accordance with the indices have deteriorated. The research is based on the analysis of the content and the existing data. The evaluations of Hungary in the indices of democracy have deteriorated since 2010 when Orban and Fidesz won the parliamentary election and gained power (up to 2016). The changes introduced by Orban in the Constitutional Court and the judiciary, the adoption of a new Basic Law, a new electoral law and the media law cast a shadow over Hungarian democracy. Indices show that the four basic principles of a democratic state have been violated, namely 1) the rule of law, 2) the separation of authorities 3) free and fair elections, and 4) freedom of expression.

The present paper aims to demonstrate that the political changes observed in some countries of Western civilization, including Poland, questioning some of the principles of liberal democratic order, originate from the reconfiguration of the systems of social values. Axiological reshuffles result from emerging threats to existential (right-wing) values. The theoretical basis of the analysis is the model of social values developed by the author based on the matrix of basic human values by Shalom H. Schwartz.

Celem artykułu jest podjęcie refleksji dotyczącej uwarunkowań (możliwości i ograniczeń) realizacji przez podmioty państwowe polityki historycznej w zróżnicowanym społeczeństwie - w warunkach liberalnej demokracji. Tak zarysowane zadanie wymaga w pierwszej kolejności wskazania kreatorów oraz pola znaczeniowego terminu „polityka historyczna”, a także możliwych (dostępnych) sposobów, którymi może być ona realizowana. Ze względu na objętość artykułu będzie to jedynie próba zasygnalizowania pewnych, w przekonaniu autorów istotnych dla tytułowej problematyki, zagadnień mogących stanowić przyczynek do dalszych badań.

The article analyzes the concept of illiberal democracy exemplified by two case studies of Hungary and Poland. The thesis of the paper states that their political systems showed signs of immaturity and institutional weakness of liberal democracy that caused the impossibility of rejection of illiberal project of political changes. To explain the breakdown of liberal democracy the paper aims at revealing both social and institutional aspects of transformation. The conclusions of the research let us to formulate the four-staged concept of the development of illiberal democracy in Hungary and Poland. The concept bases on the trajectory that begins with the social frustration of liberal democracy that leads to support for a populist party, which after victorious elections, implement the illiberal pattern of democracy. Methodologically the research benefits from the analytic and synthetic methods, the comparative method and institutional approach.

Liberal or illiberal? Perception of Israeli democracy in the European Union

Liberal democracy perspective dominates the perception of actors and partners in the foreign relations of European Union. This stems from the declared fundamental values of the Union: respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. This also influences the judgment of Israel, who connected to the EU with cooperation but also criticised for its attitude towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Liberal democracies not only allow their citizens to exercise their right to vote but also guarantee a degree of protection from the state to all political life participants, maintain plurality, respect religious, ethnic and other minorities. Israel presents itself as a liberal democracy, therefore it seems important to verify if this view is shared by the European Union. The Union, member states and politicians in their documents or during the debates judge such aspects of Israeli politics as the occupation of West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, settlements in the occupied territories, policies towards minorities, non-government organizations, oftentimes taking a critical stance towards Israeli actions. This may indicate that, despite Israel being a close political and economical partner, it still does not comply with the fundamental values and leaves something to be desired.

The notion of non-liberal democracy has become an inseparable element of the debate on the crisis of liberal democracy. For some scholars and journalists, non-liberal democracy is a consequence of the crisis of liberal democracy. It should be pointed out that when indicating the causes of this crisis in the economic, political, and cultural spheres, researchers rarely address the issue of the legitimacy of identifying democracy as non-liberal and its characteristics. Moreover, no one has initiated a broad debate on the possibility of a retreat from non-liberal democracy and the conditions that must be met to return to liberal democracy. That is why this paper attempts to describe the phenomenon called nonliberal democracy and analyse the conditions which should be fulfilled, both in political and social terms. It is to enable the return to the idea of liberal democracy.