Democracy Translated: Conceptualizing the Role of Western Foundations in Reversing Democratic Backsliding

Democracy Translated: Conceptualizing the Role of Western Foundations in Reversing Democratic Backsliding Since the 2008 financial crisis, the trajectory of Central and Eastern Europe has been defined by a significant illiberal turn. While scholarly attention has focused heavily on the mechanisms of democratic backsliding, the role of external democracy promotion, particularly post-2007 EU accession, remains theoretically underdeveloped. This paper provides a comprehensive conceptual overview of how Western political foundations (specifically German and American) have navigated this period of institutional decay in Hungary and Romania. The paper first presents a systematic literature review, identifying a critical gap in democracy promotion research that often treats the region as a "finished" project after 2007. To address this, the paper proposes a theoretical framework centered on norm translation theory. It argues that rather than failing, external foundations transitioned into "normative repositories," acting as crucial links between international liberal standards and increasingly constrained domestic civic spaces. By analyzing the conceptualization of backsliding within these organizations, the paper explores how liberal norms are not merely "promoted" but actively "translated" to fit local contexts of state capture and legal restriction. This theoretical approach shifts the focus from top-down democratization to a more nuanced understanding of external agency in maintaining the seeds of re-democratization. Ultimately, the paper seeks to offer a new conceptual lens through which to view the survival and potential restoration of liberal democratic values in Central and Eastern Europe.