The Evolution of Democratic Models in Central and Eastern European States after Accession to the European Union: A Comparative Analysis of Poland, Hungary, and Estonia

After the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe entered a new phase of political transformation, going beyond the post-communist liberalization of the 1990s. The author analyzes the impact of European integration on the political systems of the region within the framework of the Europeanization discourse, drawing on the theories of Radaelli, Börzel and Risse, as well as Schimmelfennig. Based on case studies of Poland, Hungary, and Estonia, the study compares democratization processes, highlighting the gap between formal compliance and the actual implementation of EU norms. The findings emphasize the complexity and selectivity of norm adaptation in the region, as well as the challenges to the sustainability of the transformational model in the face of liberal democracy’s erosion.