The domestic politics of EU rule of law protection

Democratic and rule of law backsliding in Hungary and Poland have inspired a growing literature on the EU's instruments to enforce fundamental values at the member state level. Some researchers have warned against possible unintended consequences of EU interference into domestic politics, but empirical research on the domestic politics on potential EU interference is largely absent. Building on the assumption that EU safeguards against democratic backsliding need domestic political support to be successful, our paper provides a first step to close this gap. We investigate domestic political actors’ (political parties, interest groups, social movements) positions towards potential EU safeguards and their arguments to support or oppose such measures. Which kinds of arguments do domestic oppositional forces make and what positions do they take to navigate between supporting EU safeguards against backsliding governments and avoiding the perception as betraying their country's own interest? And which arguments do government parties and their allies seek to disavow potential EU interference as illegitimate? Our comparative analysis of Hungary and Poland will allow us to identify similarities and differences between both countries and variation over time. We will analyze news articles, press statements and other public documents in Hungary (since 2010) and Poland (2015) regarding the EU's potential role in countering democratic and rule of law backsliding.