From democratic success to democratic backsliding: A comparative case study of Poland’s democratic backsliding in contrast to Estonia

Abstract: Democratic backsliding is becoming a bigger trend around the globe. This study examines how democratic backsliding has transpired in two post-Soviet countries, Poland and Estonia. This study has been conducted with the help of the comparative case study method where the time frame has been demarcated from the year the countries joined the European Union (2004) to present year. The theory democratic backsliding has been operationalized to four different parameters in order for the phenomenon to be measured. The four parameters are political polarization, competitive electoral procedures, restriction to opposite sides autonomy and civil rights. The results have shown that Poland’s democratic backsliding is the results of different factors. To the contrast, Estonia has not seen any remarkable signs of democratic backsliding. The findings have been linked to political polarization, and restriction to Poland’s press freedom after the party Law and Justice (PiS) came to power.