Against the backdrop of autocratic opportunism and illiberal behavior during Covid-19, there is a large debate in the field of populism and democracy research about whether populist parties and leaders are strengthened or weakened by the Covid-19 crisis. However, due to the newness of the current crisis, the justification for one side or the other is based more on theoretical assumptions than on reliable empirical research, while the existing empirical studies refer exclusively to the first wave of the pandemic. These examinations often imply that populists tend to benefit from the crisis, since their approval rates either slightly increased during the first wave or remained on the same level. However, as the second and third waves unfold in autumn 2020 and winter/spring 2021, a new picture emerges. Right-wing populist governments in Europe on average appear to be losing public support, although this is not the case in non-populist-governed EU member states. This phenomenon seems puzzling, since it would be more likely to expect that populist governments would gain public support through the crisis. This conclusion not only derives from the “hour of the executive”, but also to the observation that societies in times of crisis attribute a stronger leadership role to their government and express more allegiance than in ordinary times – a finding also known as the "rally-round-the-flag" effect. This would help right-wing populists to present themselves as strong and decisive crisis leaders, which could strengthen their power and popularity as authoritarian leaders. Against this background, the argument is made that the illiberal behavior of right-wing populists, such as authoritarian leadership, corruption, and discriminatory measures, which is assumed constitutive of their behavior, leads to a decline in public support under the conditions of acute threat. Since the relationship between illiberal behavior by right-wing populist governments during Covid-19 and public support has not been systematically investigated yet, this thesis aims to take a first step in this direction by taking a more nuanced view to gain new empirical knowledge regarding why, when, and how a loss of public support for right-wing populist governments can be observed during the first, second, and third wave of the pandemic. The results support the hypothesis while alternative explanations such as containment measures or the economic situation tend to be less relevant.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Background: The Covid-19 Pandemic Interrupts the World.
- The Puzzle and Research Question
- Theoretical Background
- Public Support for Governing Parties During Covid-19.
- A Decline for Right-Wing Governing Parties
- Current Explanations for the Trends in Public Support during Covid-19.
- Right-Wing Populism and Illiberal Democracy.
- Populism: A Contested Concept......
- Right-Wing Populism
- Populism and Democracy..\n
- Public Support for Governments under the Condition of Acute Threat.
- Public Support: Concepts and Determinants
- Public Support under Acute Threat and the Covid-19 Pandemic..\n
- Argument and Expectations..\n
- General Assumptions
- Expected Behavior of Right-Wing Populist Governments during Covid-19.
- Research Design.
- Qualitative Case Studies & Process Tracing.
- Case Selection.......
- Material Selection
- Illiberal Behavior & Public Support before Covid-19.
- Czech Republic............
- The Movement of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO)
- Authoritarian Leadership
- Corruption
- Discriminatory Measures....
- Trends in Public Support
- Poland
- The Law and Justice Party (PiS).
- Authoritarian Leadership............
- Corruption
- Discriminatory Measures....
- Trends in Public Support
- The Covid-19 Pandemic in Czech Republic and Poland...\n
- General Patterns.
- State Measures: Czech Republic
- Containment Measures
- Economic Measures
- State Measures Poland
- Containment Measures
- Economic Measures
- Illiberal Behavior & Public Support during Covid-19.
- Illiberal Government Behavior: Czech Republic
- Authoritarian Leadership..\n
- Corruption
- Discriminatory Measures...\n
- Changes in Public Support: Czech Republic
- General Trends.\n
- Causal Relations....
- Illiberal Government Behavior: Poland
- Authoritarian Leadership...\n
- Corruption.....……….\n
- Discriminatory Measures..\n
- Changes in Public Support: Poland..\n
- General Trends
- Causal Relations....
- Results and Discussion
- Results
- Alternative Explanations
- Pandemic Containment Measures and Infection Rates
- Economic Development and Context Related Events.\n
- Limitations.
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This thesis aims to analyze the relationship between public support for right-wing populist governments and their illiberal behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research focuses on the Czech Republic and Poland as case studies, examining the impact of government actions on public opinion.
- Public support for right-wing populist governments during the Covid-19 pandemic
- The relationship between illiberal behavior and public support
- The role of authoritarian leadership, corruption, and discriminatory measures in shaping public opinion
- The influence of state measures, such as containment and economic policies, on public support
- Comparative analysis of the Czech Republic and Poland
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The thesis begins by introducing the research question and providing a theoretical background on public support for governing parties, right-wing populism, and illiberal democracy. The second chapter presents the argument and expectations for the study, focusing on the potential impact of right-wing populist government behavior during the pandemic.
Chapter three outlines the research design, including the use of qualitative case studies and process tracing, as well as the selection of cases and materials. Chapter four explores the illiberal behavior and public support in the Czech Republic and Poland before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chapter five describes the general patterns and state measures implemented in the Czech Republic and Poland during the pandemic. Chapter six examines the illiberal behavior of both governments and the subsequent changes in public support, analyzing the potential causal relations.
Chapter seven presents the results of the study and discusses alternative explanations for the findings. The limitations of the research are also explored in this chapter.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The main keywords and focus topics of this thesis include right-wing populism, illiberal democracy, public support, Covid-19 pandemic, authoritarian leadership, corruption, discriminatory measures, case studies, Czech Republic, Poland, process tracing.
- Quote paper
- Tabea Geißler (Author), 2021, Public Support and Illiberal Behavior of Right-wing Populist Governments during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1184584
