Quality of Democracy at Regional Level in the V4 Countries: Patterns and Institutions

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Pavel Maškarinec (University of Jan Evangelista in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic)

Quality of Democracy at Regional Level in the V4 Countries

Patterns and Institutions

Pavel Maškarinec (University of Jan Evangelista in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic)

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English

Routledge
30 September 2025

Regional studies; Elections & referenda; Political leaders & leadership; Political structures: democracy; Regional government

Series: Democratization and Autocratization Studies

This book systematically examines regional-level qualities of democracy – representation, participation, and competition – in four countries of Central and Eastern Europe between 1994 and 2022, from the establishment of regional self-government to the present day.

Focusing on their common EU accession as representing a critical juncture in their processes of consolidation and/or destabilization of liberal democratic patterns of government on both national and subnational levels, the book applies a conceptual framework on the quality of subnational democracy. It provides a clear methodological approach to observing quality and the variability in quality of democracy across various regions and its transformation through long-term comparisons. As such, the book contributes to understanding some of the processes of more than 30 years of Central and Eastern European regional politics, offering conceptual clarifications applicable to research conducted in other contexts.

This book is of key interest to scholars and students of democracy, electoral politics, Central and East European politics, local politics, representation, and more broadly, comparative politics.

By: Pavel Maškarinec (University of Jan Evangelista in Ústí nad Labem Czech Republic)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032970493
ISBN 10: 1032970499
Series: Democratization and Autocratization Studies
Pages: 254
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

1. Introduction: On the Road to Studying Subnational Quality of Democracy 2. Regional self-government in Visegrad Four countries in a comparative perspective 3. Conceptualizing quality of democracy 4. Measuring quality of democracy at subnational level: A methodological framework 5. Regional Turnout and Civic Sector Activities in Visegrad Four Regions 6. Women’s Descriptive Representation in Visegrad Four Regional Legislatures: Continuing limited success 7. Increasing Instability and Vertical Spill-over in Visegrad Four Regional Party Systems 8. Long-term Patterns of the Subnational Democratic Quality Index (SDQI) and their Transformation: Evidence from Polish, Czech, Hungarian and Slovak Regions 9. Conclusions: Quality of Subnational Democracy in Visegrad Four Regions – Main Findings and Further Directions

Pavel Maškarinec is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic.