Phd in POLITICAL STUDIES

Research: The First Confluence: Hybridization of Political Regimes in 21st-Century Europe

The project aims, on the one hand, to conceptualize the category of political regimes that fall within the so-called "gray zone" and, on the other, to offer an original interpretation of the regime transition processes that have unfolded in the post-Cold War era. It aspires to develop a theoretical alternative to the "waves and reversals" model proposed by Huntington in 1991 and advances a comparative analysis using the Most Different Systems Design (MDSD) model, focusing on Hungary and Albania. Despite originating from opposite ends of the continuum of political regimes and having undergone diametrically opposed types of transitions, these two cases have reached a similar point of convergence: the hybrid regime. The analysis of regime transitions, by providing the cognitive tools necessary to grasp the continuous and rapid transformations of complex political systems, proves to be particularly significant in the current historical phase. Indeed, patterns of political change exert a decisive influence on the structuring and governance models of citizenship, profoundly affecting the exercise of individual freedoms and the degree of political participation that is genuinely accessible. This study hypothesizes that the first quarter of the 21st century is characterized by a macro-process of convergence among political regimes, resulting from the joint action of democratization and autocratization processes, many of which have culminated in the establishment of hybrid regimes.