Domestic actors of dissensus in the EU neighborhood. An analytical typology based on four case studies

The article identifies the domestic actors and mechanisms in the EU’s neighborhood that diminish, impede, or otherwise counter democratic norms and the European Union’s efforts to promote democratic governance. Whereas most of the literature concerned with illiberal tendencies and regimes is focused on external influences such as Russia, China or transnational populism, this research aims to shine a light on local sources and drivers of dissensus against liberal democracy: historical legacies, institutional frameworks, political structures and civil society dynamics. The selected case studies – Serbia, Bosnia–Herzegovina, Georgia and Israel – configure, with their distinctive and diverse typologies, an analytical framework to be utilized for further understanding the mechanisms linking domestic forces to democratic backsliding and autocratization. Drawing on a conceptual synthesis of relevant literature, this framework evidences an analytical typology for dissensus that highlights: discursive counter-projects, resentment, alternative political imaginaries and local re-signification of norms.