Can the EU Stop Eastern Europe's Illiberal Turn?

ABSTRACT The EU’s activation of Article 7 procedures against Hungary and Poland signals that it is beginning to take seriously the illiberal turn in Central Europe. However, the likelihood that the EU can restrain populist and illiberal tendencies in Hungary and Poland in the near future is slim. Despite the efficacy of the EU and other international organizations in promoting liberalism in these countries in the past, similar efforts are hobbled by a lack of political will and by significant bureaucratic hurdles. The impetus to protect the liberal institutions and practices developed after the collapse of communism must come from the combined efforts of additional external actors and, most of all, by strong pressure from below.