The ascent of “illiberal democracies” and populism in Central-Eastern Europe since 2010, merely two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, surprised the world and challenged Europe’s liberal values. Yet illiberalism has a long tradition in the CEE region, and the related path dependency is likely to be a main reason. I argue that it has also been amplified by some unintended consequences of the region’s post-communist transition itself and EU entry, which created an additional “democracy deficit” and pushed the region’s political transformation more towards illiberalism.
However, recent seismic events are splitting the CEE’s illiberal stronghold. The imperial aggression of Russia on Ukraine has consolidated Europe, divided the CEE’s illiberal bastion, and given boost to EU enlargement for Southern Europe and even for Ukraine. Europe itself may be on a path of change. Europe’s re-birth can be a simultaneous departure from the purest liberal European ideas and the CEE’s own struggle with its illiberal tendencies. However, countries that do not fit into the evolving European journey may drop out of it.

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