Leave policies in populist and illiberal regimes: The cases of Hungary and Poland

Dorota Szelewa, Dorottya Szikra

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report typesChapterpeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

The chapter compares policy changes in Hungary and Poland, two countries with the electoral victories of the right-wing populist parties during the 2010s. The goals of this study are twofold: 1) to provide a comparative overview of parenting leave policies of the two countries and 2) to analyse the politics of parenting leave reforms of populist and illiberal political regimes. Although family policies have been in the centre of their governance, they have not introduced paradigmatic changes to parenting leaves. Still, these schemes should be viewed as contributing to overall family policy change and related discursive framing. Common features of these policies include weak incentives for fathers to use a part of the leave and their bifurcated character. The countries slightly differ when it comes to their policy goals: while demographic growth and support for middle-class parents prevail in Hungary, Polish government is also focused on eradicating poverty.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationResearch Handbook on Leave Policy
Subtitle of host publicationParenting and Social Inequalities in a Global Perspective
EditorsIvana Dobrotić, Sonja Blum, Alison Koslowski
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Pages99-113
Number of pages15
ISBN (Electronic)9781800372214
ISBN (Print)9781800372207
DOIs
StatePublished - 9 Dec 2022
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameElgar Handbooks in Social Policy and Welfare

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