On October 30, 2023, the newly appointed Slovak government deployed police and armed forces to the border it shares with Hungary. This deployment came after Prime Minister Robert Fico, who came to power after his Direction party won the parliamentary election on September 30th, stated that, “illegal migration must be controled or else people linked to “terrorist” groups could enter the country” (ABC News, 2023).
Fico has been described by many as a populist leader seeking to drastically curb immigration (see for example, Balkan Insight). His coalition government includes “an ultra-nationalist far-right party” that Le Monde states “share his staunch anti-refugee rhetoric and populist leanings.”
Before Fico, Slovakia had adopted a more welcoming stance to immigration, welcoming many Syrian and Afghan refugees (Balkan Insight). But the new Prime Minister announced that “authorities should forcefully prevent the entry of migrants to Slovakia and deport all those already in the country.” (Claudia Ciobanu, 2023). Migration to Slovakia has increased dramatically in recent months. AP News states for example that “According to the Ministry of Interior, the country registered 39,688 migrants from the beginning of the year until Oct. 1—an 11-fold increase from a year ago.”
Anti-immigration rhetoric and policies in Slovakia are not happening in a vacuum. In recent months, Poland, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Austria have all been tightening border control. As argued by Hall in a recent book reviewed by the Washington Post, dictators learn from each other. Specifically, Fico’s call for a clampdown on immigration mirrors what happened in Poland, which has also implemented stricter border control.
Populism is often a precursor to democratic erosion. Overall, Freedom House reports that Slovakia has a freedom rating of 90/100 which signifies that the country is relatively free and still a liberal democracy. But this could significantly change based on recent developments. As argued by Jan-Werner Müller in “What is Populism,” populists undermine pluralism by claiming that they, and only they, can represent the people. Populists also often promote the idea of a homogenous “people” and tend to have restrictive views on immigration.
Overall, Slovakia’s recent appointment of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico may lead to a decline in their Freedom House score. The next few months will show how far he is ready to go to implement his party’s anti-immigration rhetoric.
Works Cited:
AFP, L. M. with. (2023, October 11). Slovak populist Fico says will form coalition with far-right. Le Monde.fr. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/10/11/slovak-populist-fico-says-will-form-coalition-with-far-right_6164488_4.html
AP News. (2023, October 3). Austrians and Czechs reintroduce controls on the border with Slovakia to curb migration. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/czech-republic-slovakia-migration-c19c6dfb4e89636279c5473c7f8083c8
The Associated Press. (2023, October 30). Slovakia’s new government announces a massive deployment at the Hungarian border to curb migration. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/new-slovakias-government-announces-massive-deployment-hungarian-border-104482348
Board, E. (2023, June 22). Opinion | dictators’ dark secret: They’re learning from each other. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/22/dictators-trade-toolkits-cling-power/
Ciobanu, C. (2023, October 31). Poland-Slovakia Border: In And Out Of Control. Balkan Insight. https://balkaninsight.com/2023/10/31/poland-slovakia-border-in-and-out-of-control/
Dlhopolec, P. (2023, September 14). Slovakia Finds Itself In Eye Of Illegal Migration Storm. Balkan Insight. https://balkaninsight.com/2023/09/14/slovakia-finds-itself-in-eye-of-illegal-migration-storm/
Müller, Jan-Werner. What Is Populism? University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.
Slovakia: Freedom in the World 2023 Country Report. Freedom House. (2022). https://freedomhouse.org/country/slovakia/freedom-world/2023
Spike, J. (2023, October 5). Slovakia begins border checks with neighboring Hungary in an effort to curb migration. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/slovakia-starts-border-check-hungary-migration-450831f11ecba3ddb859ccb65e72bb71 Stoklasa, R. (2023, October 4). Slovakia tightens controls on Hungary border as migrant arrivals rise. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/slovakia-putting-temporary-controls-border-with-hungary-amid-migration-rise-2023-10-04/
Hi Payton, I enjoy your use of Freedom House in this blog. I think its interesting that a country that scored a 90/100 would elected such a populist leader. I’m curious to see how there score develops from here on out and where they currently score on other measurements for democracy.
Hi Payton,
Your article was fascinating to read. It is unfortunate to see the rise of leaders in European countries with anti-migrant sentiments. These leaders, especially since the 2015 European Migration Crisis, have gained traction on the European landscape because of their rhetoric. Seeing a country like Slovakia even developing an anti-migrant view is very surprising for me because they have always been more moderate when it comes to the topic. However, this anti-migrant sentiment has spread like wildfire around Europe, and now this sentiment has reached Slovakia. This topic is very important to talk about, so thank you for taking the time to do so.
Hello Payton, Your connections to rise in European Populism I find interesting, as you may read I may the opposite argument but I find yours to be very compelling. Populism in Europe and the rise in movements for populism I have been found to be rooted in anti-immigration politics across Europe and some influence can be traced back to the United States an Donald Trump during his campaigns an presidency with anti-immigration policy promises made across the campaign trail. I would like to see their index score in Slovakia because when I was a little bit younger I thought that countries like Slovakia, Czechia, and in Northern Europe with Amsterdam which have seen a rise in populism and a decline in democracy currently were once very democratic in my opinion. They commonality in this populist movement as you pointed out and as I have seen is a ant-immigration movement
Hi Payton,
This is an interesting bit of information, that Slovakia has previously had a very high freedom score, but now has elected a populist president. I wonder what the support for this president looks like in the country; if he had campaigned on policy of immigration control and if there is widespread support for it in Slovakia.
The incredible rise in the number of immigrants could explain a quick turn around from strong democracy to more populist and exclusionary government. A 2019 study on Greek islands near the Turkey did find a clear correlation between support for a far-right party, and the number of migrants that moved through the island (Dinas et al). Europe’s refugee crisis has made immigration policy a top focus in elections, and I suspect that is the case in Slokavia.
Hello Peyton,
What is happening in Slovakia seems to be a domino effect happening in a majority of Europe. It looks like the heads of state in these European countries are all feeding off each other. It was almost as if they were waiting for one country to implement populist regime so they could follow suit. This has likely developed because European heads of state are all close together. As you mentioned many leaders tend to look at the leaders near them for inspiration or guidance. Overall, it will be interesting to see how them democratic system in Slovakia plays out this upcoming year. I am also curious on how Slovakia’s situation will affect the countries around them and their democracy.
Hello Peyton,
I find the information you provided as very interesting, I agree with a firm stance on very controlled and regulated immigration but to even see such a drastic shift in the way immigration is handled in Slovakia seems rather strange. While I disagree that having stronger security on said borders and removing those illegally in the country are not correlated to freedom rating I think it was a much too drastic change way too rapidly. I think the better course of action would be instituting change at a much slower pace but I agree completely with more regulations if they were having issues to begin with.