The Visio Journal: Volume 4 Posted by Visio institut in Knjige, Politični sistem, Pravni red 20 Dec 2019 Purchasing a print copy of The Visio Journal Obtaining permissions The Liberal Order and Its Backlash: Transition and Realignment in Eastern Europe and the West By Kai Weiss* A transition is conditioned on changes to the setup of societies. Europe went through a substantial transition at the end of the 17th century, when liberal ideas and institutions took hold in a sustainable and durable way for the first time in history. The liberal order started to develop and has continued to exist, with some hiccups along the way, until today, not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, it seemed inevitable that the whole world would follow suit. Postcommunist countries in Eastern Europe, actually, adopted liberal policies quicker than anyone else. In recent years, however, liberal institutions have been attacked from many sides, especially in Eastern Europe where illiberal reforms have been implemented, the rule of law weakened, the freedom of the press and association curtailed, and economic rights constrained for those not in power. It is not only in East Europe in which movements have garnered increasing support for replacing liberal institutions at least to some extent. The traditionally liberal Western Europe has also been affected by it, though its institutions have proven more resilient. Explanations for the increasing unpopularity of liberalism are manifold, including a loss of belonging and identity, breakdown of social institutions, spiritual crises, and political organizations that have excessively centralized political systems. For liberalism to continue to prevail even after the current political realignment, it needs to make the moral and cultural, less the economic, case for a free world, and take into account that humans are social beings and in need of strong communities and social bonds. Key words: liberalism, transition, crisis, Europe. * Kai Weiss is a Research Fellow at the Austrian Economics Center and a board member of the Friedrich A. v. Hayek Institute, both located in Vienna, Austria. Authoritarian Demographic Policies in Hungary: Demographic Policy as the Ultimate Authoritarian Central Planning Tool By Eszter Nova* In 2015, the government of Viktor Orbán announced the reintroduction of an old family policy tool, a state subsidized loan that turns into a non-refundable subsidy upon the birth of a certain number of children, as part of a broader Family Protection Action Plan. This Plan, which bears all the hallmarks of an authoritarian staple, is dehumanizing, pits demographic groups against each other and distorts the markets. It also creates a distraction for the citizens and puts the opposition in a corner where their only option is a bidding war. The Orbán family policy creates a lifetime of bureaucratic entanglement for the recipients, as well as dependency from the welfare state and political influence over them. As its socialist-era predecessor, the loan-for-babies Program results in a population anticipating nudges from the government in the form of conditional pay-outs. Further, by redrawing the housing market with micromanaging specificity, the policy arbitrarily distorts markets and creates damaging incentives. The policy also purposely excludes disfavoured ethnic, social and economic groups and minorities. Further, by “only protecting the family,” the government gives itself a justification to attack homosexuals, minorities and single people. In this context, politicians are demonizing women and bringing back medieval views. The family policy in Hungary is an example of authoritarian paternalism, an overgrown state that redistributes resources to benefit its own political clients, while ostensibly attempting to support the economic victims of its own policies. The paper sets out to describe the new Loan-for-Babies Program, compare it to the pre-1989 edition, and puts it into broader policy and political context. Key words: Hungary, demographic policy, paternalism, central planning, authoritarianism. * Eszter Nova is Lecturer at Cevro Institute in Prague, Czech Republic. The Greek New Right and the Eve of Conservative Populism By Athanasios Grammenos* The economic crisis in the Eurozone and its dire consequences for Greece terminated the post-1974 political consensus, which was based on a pro-European and democratic concord. The collapse of the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 2012 allowed space for the radical Left to become the new pole of the political system. To this advancement, the conservatives, being the other pole, responded with a prompt enlargement attempt to the populist right-wing, engulfing several elements of the New Right. This new political order had had evident effects on the party’s social and economic agenda, escalating the political debate at the expense of established liberal principles. While in opposition (2015-2019), New Democracy (ND), member of the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, voted against a series of liberal bills (gender issues, separation of Church and State, the Macedonian issue, etc.) giving out positions with authoritarian and populist essence. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the rise of the New Right in Greece (2012-2019) in both rhetoric and practice, and its consequences for law institutions, human rights and foreign affairs. It is argued that ND, currently holding office, has been occupied by deeply conservative elements as a response to the rise of the radical Left, adopting occasionally ultra-conservative positions in a wide range of social issues. Although the case of Greece is unlike to those in other European countries, nevertheless, to the extent to which the preservation of traditional hierarchies come into question, the political platform of the Greek New Right, which has embedded authoritarian attitudes cultivating an anti-liberal sub-culture to the party’s voters, is in accordance with several European conservative movements like in Hungary, Austria or Czechia. This paper seeks to expound the authoritarian side of the New Right in Greece and offer an assessment of whether liberalism has the capacity to stand its ground against the sharp increase of the right-wing populism. In an effort to produce a well informed and accurate analysis, the sources include the bibliography, official documents and announcements, and press clippings. Key words: liberalism, New Right, populism, Greece, neo-conservatives. * Athanasios Grammenos is the Project Manager of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit in Greece. He holds his Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Macedonia and currently he is Fellow at the Sacramento State University Library. Human Freedom and Economic Prosperity: Evidence from Eastern Europe By Elena Makrevska Disoska* and Katerina Shapkova Kocevska** The main mechanism that relates human freedom to economic growth is channeled through institutional and economic factors, such as government effectiveness, investments, and trade. Therefore, institutions are an important determinant of economic prosperity in countries worldwide. Institutions shape human behavior, set the “rules of the game” in society, and reflect the prevailing norms and values. Both economic science and history have proved that economies and societies flourish in a market-supportive environment where institutions adhere to personal choice, self-ownership, and the rule of law. In this paper, we focus on exploring the fractional effects of institutional changes on economic growth (measured as GDP per capita) and on productivity (measured as GDP per person employed). We developed ordinary least squares (OLS) panel regression models for selected economies of Eastern Europe, or around 20 cross-section units (countries) in the period between 2008 and 2016. The cross-country regression models demonstrate that institutions presented with human freedom and human capital have the highest influence and are statistically significant determinants of economic growth and productivity in the selected economies of Eastern Europe. Key words: institutions, liberalism, human freedom, economic growth, Eastern Europe. * Elena Makrevska Disoska, Faculty of Economics, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Blvd. Goce Delchev 9v, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. E-mail: elenam@eccf.ukim.edu.mk. ** Katerina Shapkova Kocevska, Faculty of Law Iustinianus Primus, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Blvd. Goce Delchev 9b, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. E-mail: k.shapkova@pf.ukim.edu.mk. Copyright © 2019 by Visio institut. All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The authors of this publication have worked independently and opinions expressed by them are, therefore, their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the supporters or staff of the Visio Institute. This publication in no way implies that the Visio Institute or its staff are in favor of, or oppose the passage of, any bill; or that they support or oppose any political alliance, party, or candidate. PURCHASING a print copy of THE VISIO JOURNAL: The price of a single copy of The Visio Journal is 9 euro. For order, kindly contact us at info@visio-institut.org. OBTAINING PERMISSIONS: To obtain permission to reproduce or reuse text or images from our journals, kindly contact us at info@visio-institut.org. Visio-Journal-4 no comments
