Defending Democracy from Below: Governance Lessons from Central Metropolises in Poland and Hungary

It is hard to disagree with the statement that the studies of autocratization and democratization have been focused on the national level (Merkel & Lührmann, 2021; Lührmann & Lindberg, 2019; Levitsky & Way, 2002; Diamond, 1999; Grabbe, 2006). As a result, works on the democratic resistance of subnational actors, such as cities, are limited (Coşkun, et al., 2024; Tomini et al., 2025; Szymański, 2024; Panzano et al., 2024). This comparative study aims to fill this research gap, especially considering the growing importance of citizens' engagement at the urban level. The main goal is to uncover what are the conditions, forms, mechanisms and results of governance in central metropolises in Poland (Warsaw) and Hungary (Budapest) aimed at counteracting democratic backsliding. To explain the role of these governance in counteracting democracy backsliding at the national level, the study builds its conceptual framework on urban democracy emphasising the tension between urban level and national level (cf. Buzogány & Spöri, 2024). For the purposes of the study, a hypothesis is formulated according to which the capacity for democratic resilience is a result of the systemic position of the executive body (a mayor) and its ability to initiate and/or support bottom-up governance mechanisms by urban communities. Methodologically, this study employs qualitative research methods. The governance processess be systematically explored through deductive thematic analysis to make sense of the data collected through interviews as well documents and materials (Gherghina, Geissel & Henger, 2024). The findings suggest that, despite increasing trends toward (re)centralization in Poland and Hungry, counteracting democratic backsliding contributes to the creation of new forms of 'involving' citizens in urban decision-making processes. However, this paper is skeptical of assuming that this democratic potential will lead to radical change at the national level.