This thesis investigates the reasons behind democratic backsliding by looking at the past 15 years of democratic development in Poland and Hungary, two backsliding countries, and comparing it with Czech Republic, a country that has not faced severe democratic backsliding. Previous research has pointed to many different possible reasons for backsliding but there is no agreement on theoretical explanations, especially not for backsliding in countries that were previously perceived as having consolidated democracy. This study uses Linz and Stepans five arenas of consolidated democracy and compares Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic through a most similar systems design in order to identify the arenas that can explain the democratic backsliding. In the second part of the analysis, these identified arenas -  civil society and rule of law - are more closely investigated over the 15-year time span in order to find what happened in Poland and Hungary and how it differs from what happened in Czech Republic. The study concludes that it is the combination of structurally insufficient democratic institutions and agents willing to abuse these structural deficits that lead to democratic backsliding. Further research is encouraged to identify other important arenas and include more countries in the comparison in order to strengthen any findings.

Democratic backsliding is a growing threat against peace in Europe. In the 1990s, Europeunderwent extensive democratization, including Poland and Hungary, who were painted asexemplary in the transition. In recent years, however, the countries have shown the opposite development and are today the two countries in Europe that have the fastest declining democracy. The aim of this thesis is to understand this phenomenon and investigate the democratic developmentin Poland and Hungary through process tracing from the end of World War II to the year 2020. To do so, the theory of political culture is applied to elaborate the explanations of the development. Furthermore, there is a need to do further research concerning democratic backsliding in Poland and Hungary as they are often considered equals in the academic debate. Additionally, the purpose ofthis thesis is therefore to rebut this inaccurate presentation of the countries. The results are achieved by using process tracking and most different design as main methods. Thefindings of the thesis are based on the results of the analysis, concluding that the anti-democraticdevelopments in Poland and Hungary do indeed have differences. Through the process tracking, differences are found in the explanatory variables. The countries have similar critical events whichhave shaped the countries collective memory differently. This difference is also found in how the parties have created legitimacy among the population.

Statistics from Freedom House show that 2018 is the thirteenth consecutive year with democratic decline. This paper examines underlying causes to this democratic decline. This is done through literature review of current research in the field of democracy development. By using descriptive idea analysis of selected research literature, the paper aims to clarify the current debate on the challenges of democracy. The study somewhat supports that long-term liberal democracy creates conditions that potentially cause its own retreat. This is because long-term liberal democracy provides peace and growth, which is unequally distributed in society and leads to increased social divisions. As a result, large groups of people no longer feel included in society, which in turn will pave the way for populist movements and potential autocratic leaders. The study also somewhat supports that there has been a weakening in the functioning of the democratic institutions to act as gatekeepers, keeping potential autocrats out of power. Increased democracy and transparency in the democratic processes has made it easier for potential autocrats to come to power. All in all, there is some support for the hypothesis of the essay: The more democracy the greater the risk that the democratic system will weaken.