ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to determine whether there is a genuine constitutional theory of “illiberal constitutionalism,” as recently advocated in some East-Central European member states of the European Union, especially Hungary and Poland. These examples demonstrate that illiberal democracy has nothing to do with any majoritarian constitutional model based on the separation of powers, or with political constitutionalism, or any kind of weak judicial review, and that it misuses the concept of constitutional identity. The second part of the chapter investigates the social, religious, and cultural relations of illiberal societies. It is argued that there has been a very weak historical tradition of liberalism and modernization in East-Central European societies, and that the main driving force of the transition to liberal democracy was to reach Western living standards. The recent success of illiberalism in the region seems to indicate that its special historical circumstances require a longer period of time to build up a liberal democratic political and constitutional culture. But democratic backsliding is not proof positive of the failure of liberal democracy altogether, as illiberal leaders and their court ideologists want people to believe.
