동유럽의 극우 정당

The Prospects and Limits of the Radical Right Parties in Eastern Europe

동유럽 국가들은 유럽연합(EU)가입을 계기로 민주주의를 더욱 심화시킬 것으로 기대되었으나 실제로는 퇴보한 것으로 드러났다. EU 가입조건인 코펜하겐 기준의 첫 번째 조항 ‘민주주의 유지’를 저버린 배신자라는 비판도 제기되었다. 이 논문은 동유럽 민주주의 체제가 비자유주의적 권위주의로 퇴보하고 있으며 그 1차적 원인이 극우 정당에 있음을 전제로 한다. 극우 정당은 일반적으로 태생적이다. 극우 정당은 기본적으로 인종주의적 민족주의와 유럽통합 거부를 내세 워 정치과정에 참여하고 있다. 슬로베니아에서 에스토니아에 이르기까지 동유럽 모든 국가에 분포되어 있는 극우 정당은 집권 연정의 파트너로 참여할 기회를 얻는 등 정치적 지평을 점차 넓혀가고 있다. 특히 동유럽 민주주의의 일탈을 주도한 국가는 헝가리와 폴란드이다. 동 유럽 최초의 극우 집권 여당인 FIDESZ와 PiS는 집권 이후 극우로 방향을 틀어 국내 정치과정을 비자유주의적 권위주의 체제로 재편해 나가고 있다. 동유럽 국가의 민주주의 퇴보는 국내 정치과정을 왜곡할 뿐만 아니라 유럽 전체의 불균형을 가속화시키고 있다.

Since the collapse of Communism in 1989, each Eastern European nation took a long step in developing a stable democratic system for the last 30 years, respectively. Many experts predicted that these Eastern European countries had the potential in developing a stable liberal democracy after joining the EU(European Union). These countries were required to obey the Copenhagen Criteria as a prerequisite: to preserve democratic governance and human rights. Nevertheless, they were criticized as backsliders who disobeyed this prerequisite. Liberal Democracy in these countries has, in fact, downfallen since joining the EU, supported by the Democracy Index, investigated by several institutions. This thesis exhibits how the downfall of Eastern European democracy originated from the radical right parties. The unstable system of political parties and the pessimistic view of the socioeconomic factors were the sources that enabled the radical right party to expand its dominance. The radical right parties bring chaos into Europe as a whole in two distinct ways. Above all, the first is ethnic nationalism. This is also a common policy for the radical right party throughout Europe as a whole, from East to West. They commonly present anti-immigration and anti-refugee policies, without exception. The second ideology is an extreme opposition to the EU. Scepticism and doubts towards the European Union are traditionally referred to as Euroscepticism. Although this may be a rationalistic view in some aspect, the majority of the radical right party are considered Europhobic that merely disdain the integration of Europe as a whole. The radical right parties will still hold its power in Eastern European politics by taking advantage of a continuous political, economical, and social disorder. The downfall of Eastern European democracy will not only bring forth an imbalance in power but also present an obstacle for the European Union from developing as a stable force.