Faculty of ArtsComenius University Bratislava

Illiberalism and the Constitution of the Slovak Republic: Political Discourse Analysis

About the project

Summary of the idea: The Slovak Constitution embraces democracy and the rule of law. Globally and historically, however, commitment to these ideas has sometimes correlated with the erosion of democracy. The risk of erosion also in Slovakia prompts asking whether the Slovak Constitution contains ideas, which constrain democracy and the rule of law, considered as illiberal. If so, which political actors defend and which actors contest them? Addressing these questions advances the understanding of democracy’s resilience, and maps the use of the terminology of illiberalism in Slovakia. Furthermore, it advances political science research on constitutions and constitutionalism. At the theoretical level we systematize the state of art on the use and approaches to the concept of illiberalism. Empirically, we analyze original data from the Slovak Constitution and its amendments, parliamentary discourse, decisions of the Constitutional Court on interpretation of the Constitution, and academic writings. 

Duration: 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2025

Research team (Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Arts, Department of Political Science):

  • Mgr. Zsolt Gál, PhD.
  • doc. Mgr. Erik Láštic, PhD. 
  • prof. PhDr. Darina Malová, PhD. (deputy to the principal investigator)
  • Max Steuer, M.A., LL.M., PhD. (principal investigator)

Budget: 2023 (2979 €); 2024 (5082 €); 2025 (to be assessed in 2025)

Funder: Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic (VEGA-1/0658/23)

Publications

Academic publications:

Publications for a wider audience: