How movement parties contest democratic backsliding: evidence from Hungary and Romania

Democratic backsliding is on the rise globally, prompting renewed attention to the strategies through which democracies resist authoritarian encroachments. One form of resistance involves the transition of protest movements into the electoral arena, in the form of so-called “movement parties.” While widely studied in Western Europe, this new party form has received little attention in Eastern European countries where governing elites are fundamentally undermining democracy. This article investigates two movement parties that have emerged in Central and Eastern European countries experiencing democratic backsliding – Momentum in Hungary and USR in Romania – and their impact on the quality of democracy. Focusing on their interaction with media institutions – key arenas both for contesting and enabling democratic erosion – the study draws on semi-structured interviews with party representatives and journalists, party materials and press coverage. The findings show that both parties challenged entrenched elites and introduced new ethical standards, yet their ability to institutionalize democratic gains and counter democratic erosion has been severely limited by media capture and persistent power asymmetries. By analysing the interplay between movement parties and traditional media institutions, the article offers new insights into the constraints and possibilities for democratic innovation under hybrid and democratically declining regimes.