Anti-Establishment Parties and Voters’ Responses in Post-Communist Europe

ABSTRACT Starting with the third decade of post-communism, the emergence of many anti-establishment parties in Central and Eastern Europe reshaped the political landscape. Political parties remain key actors through their functions of representation, but it is unclear how they are responding and adapting to recent challenges and developments. At the same time, the behavior of voters in such agitated times remains a puzzle. This special issue aims to outline several theoretical models of party and voter adaptation to political realities, and to identify and explain various ways in which anti-establishment parties promote their discourse and how voters respond to it.