Figure 1. Peaceful protest in Bratislava city center. Photo by Tomas Tkacik, via Pexels.

When journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée were murdered in 2018, outraged citizens across the state demanded that Prime Minister Robert Fico resign. But today, as populist leader Fico, head and co-founder of the left-wing ultra-nationalist SMER-SD (Direction–Social Democracy) party, returns to power in Slovakia, the question looms: can civil society strike back? To understand Slovakia’s erosion, it’s important to consider three key factors: the country’s historical legacy of successful civic resistance, the increasingly authoritarian strategies used by Fico’s government, and the uncertain but crucial role of public mobilization in safeguarding democracy amid institutional erosion. 

Slovakia’s Protest Legacy

Historically, civil society movements in Slovakia, then part of Czechoslovakia, have proven to be powerful tools against authoritarianism and democratic backsliding. During the economic decline under Communist Party leader Antonín Novotný, reformist Alexander Dubček rose to prominence. He advocated for a reformed version of socialism that emphasized political and economic liberalization. His vision called for multiparty elections, the restoration of personal freedoms, and greater press, assembly, and travel rights. Through the success of opening media channels and eliminating censorship, political consciousness grew, ushering in the Prague Spring, a transition of political opinion in Czechoslovakia. 

The spirit of the Prague Spring laid the groundwork for future dissent. Under continued Soviet domination, Czechoslovakia’s students, reformist leaders, and theater groups mobilized against repression of individual liberties and worsening market conditions. Between 1988 and 1989, a wave of nonviolent, student-led protests sparked the Velvet Revolution, ending Soviet control over Czechoslovakia and ushering in democratic rule. This movement exemplifies what scholar Nancy Bermeo describes as effective countermobilization, when at least one set of actors or institutions can shift incentives or apply pressure to resist democratic backsliding. This legacy of peaceful resistance continued with the Velvet Divorce in 1993, which led to the formation of two independent states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In the aftermath of the Velvet Divorce, Slovakia established two decades of democratic governance. However, the strength of its democracy has varied, reaching a tipping point in 2018 with the assassination of a local journalist. While investigating corruption and fraud cases, Ján Kuciak’s murder triggered a public already frustrated by entrenched corruption. Thousands marched in Slovakia and across Europe, pressuring Prime Minister Fico to resign 18 days later in the largest public uprising since the 1989 Velvet Revolution.

Fico’s Return: Democratic Decline

The civil society victory in 2018 set a powerful precedent. But since returning in 2023, Fico has moved quickly to undermine those democratic gains. Fico has swiftly weakened press freedom, protest rights, and institutional checks, eroding key democratic safeguards. He dismantled major anti-corruption mechanisms by abolishing the elite national police unit (NAKA), suspending communication with four prominent media outlets, threatening NGOs, and proposing legislation that could restrict the right to protest. Internationally, Slovakia has drawn closer to authoritarian regimes like Russia and Hungary, halting military aid to Ukraine and distancing itself from European Union values. 

Civil Society Strikes Back

Today, mass demonstrations are once again erupting across Slovakia in defense of democracy. In January 2025, thousands protested in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, and in towns and cities across the country, condemning Fico’s pro-Moscow diplomacy and growing hostility toward the European Union, championing the message “Slovakia is Europe.” The people called for his resignation as they had done in 2018, demanding a return to democratic accountability and European Union alignment. Rallies continued into March, targeting Slovakia’s attacks on independent institutions.

By April, protests spread to London and Madrid, opposing a law that would label NGOs receiving over €5,000 as “lobbyists” and require them to disclose their donors. Civil society groups warn that the bill aims to discredit NGOs and limit their public role. Amnesty International, the European Union, and other international bodies have condemned the proposal, describing it as a threat to democratic participation and cautioning that it could trigger legal consequences.

The Power of Nonviolent Mobilization

Amid ongoing protests, an important question emerges: can activism alone reverse Slovakia’s democratic decline? Many scholars remain skeptical. In their widely read volume in How Democracies Die, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt identified five strategies that pro-democratic forces have employed globally to prevent and combat the rise of authoritarianism. These range from passive Laissez-faire electoral competition to more assertive tactics like militant democracy, partisan gatekeeping, containment, and societal mobilization. Although many of Slovakia’s institutional safeguards have weakened, grassroots resistance remains a key line of defense. Still, civil society’s ability to defend democracy is limited without strong institutional backing.

As Ellen Lust cautions, horizontal and vertical accountability through institutional checks and balances and non-state actors often lack enforcement mechanisms, a problem worsened by the erosion of civil liberties. Freedom House rates Slovakia a Freedom in the World score of 89/100, reflecting its overall democratic framework, while addressing its shortcomings. State hostility toward migrants, the Roma population, and the LGBTQIA+ community raises concerns about the quality of democracy and the prevalence of discrimination. Prime Minister Fico has even proposed a constitutional amendment that seeks to legally define gender as binary, a move condemned by international human rights organizations and modeled after Hungarian legislation. Without elite defections or legal protections, protesters may struggle to shift power dynamics. 

Nonetheless, Slovakia’s present resistance remains promising. The movement’s non-violent nature lowers barriers to participation, enhances its legitimacy, and boosts international support. According to the NAVCO dataset, nonviolent resistance has succeeded 53% of the time across 232 campaigns between 1900 and 2006, outperforming violent resistance. With international condemnation of Fico’s government intensifying and protests spreading beyond Slovak borders, the movement has become a powerful symbol of democratic resilience.

As Fico aligns more closely with populists, meeting with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and adopting legislation that mirrors Moscow’s playbook, the stakes for Slovakia’s democratic future are high. Yet history offers hope. From the Velvet Revolution to mass mobilizations after Ján Kuciak’s assassination, Slovaks have repeatedly demonstrated that civic resistance can force political accountability. The active movement, expanding in both scale and international reach, suggests that this legacy of resistance is far from over. Although Lust predicts civil society cannot single-handedly reverse democratic decline without institutional support, Slovakia’s case reminds us that public pressure can be a powerful corrective force. In crises like these, the streets may speak the loudest.

References 

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Tkacik, Tomas. Peaceful Protest in Bratislava City Center. Photograph. Pexels. n.d. https://www.pexels.com/photo/peaceful-protest-in-bratislava-city-center-30766222/.