https://at-ceu.studyguide.timeedit.net/modules/POLS5201?type=COREThe 21st century brought a decline in the quality of democracy. This development was coupled in many regions of the world with a critique of liberal democratic norms. The course asks a simple question: why should someone be unhappy with liberal democracy? We will answer this question by looking into the intellectual arguments, the social causes, and the political mechanisms behind the robust illiberal trend. Many critical arguments against a liberal democratic arrangement built on centuries-long antidemocratic, nationalist, sexist, religious, radical leftist, and populist beliefs. But they also offer insightful analyses of contemporary social processes. To understand the transformation of the political climate the course introduces the students to the history of illiberal elite ideologies and popular sentiments, examining the question of whether the two are related to each other. The psychological aspect of authoritarianism takes us to personality theories, while the study of culture wars requires the analysis of contemporary public debates.The course will also discuss the varieties of illiberal ideologies, such as populist, traditionalist-Christian, Islamist, paternalist-statist, libertarian, nationalist-racist, law-and-order, materialistic, antidemocratic and technocratic varieties. These types are identified through examining the relationship between attitudinal dimensions such as constitutional liberalism, cultural liberalism, economic leftism, environmentalism, and statism. The cultural dimension is further divided into the more specific aspects of nationalism, racism, religious fundamentalism, collectivism, and Euroskepticism. Departing from the study of these facets of illiberalism(s), several further questions will be investigated, such as: Is religion an inspiration for liberal or illiberal arrangements? How is historical memory politicized by political entrepreneurs? Do populists support illiberal or majoritarian democracy? What is the nature of the 21st century political, social and cultural cleavages? What are the psychological roots of the opposition to liberal democracy? What are the good arguments against liberal democracy? Does radical right-wing populism pose a threat to democracy? And what about left-wing illiberalism?