The Twin Challenges to Separation of Powers in Central Europe: Technocratic Governance and Populism

Abstract

Separation of institutions, functions and personnel – Checks and balances – Hungary, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia – Short tradition of separation of powers in Central Europe – Fragile interwar systems of separation of powers – Communist principle of centralization of power – Technocratic challenge to separation of powers during the EU accession – One-sided checks on the elected branches and empowering technocratic elitist institutions – Populist challenge to separation of powers in the 2010s – Re-politicizing of the public sphere, removing most checks on the elected branches, and curtailing and packing the un-elected institutions – Technocratic and populist challenges to separation of powers interrelated more than we thought.