Introduction: Law, Populism, and the Political in Semi-Peripheral Central and Eastern Europe

The present introductory chapter offers an overarching background narrative on the semi-peripheral condition of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), impacting upon its legal and political culture, against the backdrop of which the current right-wing populist tendencies have emerged. It first addresses the potential of a critico-juridical engagement with authoritarian populism emphasising the need for a proper critical methodology, including ideology critique, and going beyond the point of view of liberal legality. The chapter also looks into the semi-peripheral status of Central and Eastern Europe, reading against not only the world system theory of Immanuel Wallerstein, but also post-colonial theory, as well as the theory of legal transplants. Finally, the chapter sets the broader historical context in which the CEE variety of right-wing illiberal populism has emerged, characterised by weak institutional traditions, frequent and profound transformations, and deep historical traumas affecting the law, politics, economy, and society in the region.