Illiberal Networks in Hungary, Poland and Romania: exploring their influence on party elites

Illiberal ideas are on the rise in Europe and beyond. In the last decade, CEE governing elites implemented reforms that challenged the tenets of political, cultural and economic liberalism. Ideas do not emerge in a vacuum, but they are diffused across dense networks of actors, including politicians, governmental agencies, think tanks and pressure groups. Once diffused, ideas can contribute to altering policy paradigms. Previous literature revealed that (neo)liberal networks play a role in influencing policy outcomes. However, we still don’t know to what extent similar patterns can be ascertained referring to the diffusion and impact of illiberal ideas. Against this backdrop, the paper aims to analyse the online communication (e.g. Twitter accounts) of those Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) spreading illiberal values rejecting political and cultural liberalism in Poland, Romania and Hungary. We will follow a two-step strategy: first, we will analyse – in terms of content – the tweets produced by illiberal NGOs and their most influential members; then we will map whether in terms of ideas or interactions (e.g. re-tweets; likes) illiberal NGOs are embedded in networks involving members of the national governments and/or key political parties’ elites. The paper contributes to the existing literature by ascertaining whether the literature on liberal networks (and on their influence) can be applied also to the illiberal ones. Additionally, we show how illiberal ideas are not confined to the party politics realm but are backed and pushed by influential intellectual elites.