The struggle over authoritarian pressures in Slovenia in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic Cover Image

The struggle over authoritarian pressures in Slovenia in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic
The struggle over authoritarian pressures in Slovenia in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic

Author(s): Danica Fink-Hafner
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Civil Society
Published by: Fakultet političkih nauka Univerziteta u Beogradu
Keywords: janshism; autocratization; political participation; public contestation; executive limitation;

Summary/Abstract: In Slovenia, the COVID-19 epidemic opened a window of opportunity for already existing political alternative nick-named as janšizem, according to Janez Janša and his idea of establishing the second republic. Autocratization tendencies under Janša’s government have proved be neither automatic nor inevitable. Rather, the Slovenian example has shown that a stream against authoritarian pressures involving the activities of a broad range of civil society actors, some state institutions and increasingly some political society actors, could at least limit, if not stop autocratization tendencies. Besides that, the stability of parliamentary democracy and electoral rules preventing a one-party majority rule have proven to be important institutional factors in limiting changes in the direction of a majoritarian one-party rule with autocratic tendencies. All in all, Slovenian case study points at the hypothesis of path dependence in dealing with autocratic tendencies.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 18
  • Page Range: 20-32
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: English