noviembre 26, 2020
Autor: WID.world

Political conflict, social inequality, and electoral cleavages in Central-Eastern Europe

In this paper, Attila Lindner, Filip Novokmet, Thomas Piketty, and Tomasz Zawisza analyze political conflict, social inequality, and electoral cleavages in Central-Eastern Europe the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland since the fall of communism until today. The left has seen a prolonged decline in support, while the “populist” parties increased their support and recently attained power in each country. They relate this to specific trajectories of post-communist transition.

 

Key Findings

  • Former communist parties in Hungary and Poland transformed themselves into social-democratic parties. These parties’ pro-market policies prevented them from establishing themselves predominantly among a lower-income electorate.
  • The liberal right in the Czech Republic and Poland became representative of both high-income and high-educated voters.
  • This has opened up space for populist parties and influenced their character, assuming a more ‘nativist’ outlook in Poland and Hungary and more ‘centrist’ in the Czech Republic.

Figure – Political conflict, social inequality, and electoral cleavages in Central-Eastern Europe

 

This figure shows the difference between the percentages of vote shares for political parties among the top 10 % and the bottom 90% income voters in Poland.

 

Political conflict, social inequality, and electoral cleavages in Central-Eastern Europe, World Inequality Lab

 

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