Illiberalism and Antisemitism under Post-Communism

Illiberalism dates way back to the aftermath of the French Revolution but its post-communist resurrection may be approximately traced to the second decade of the new millennium. After reviewing several attempts to analyze the phenomenon and its causes, the article underlines the oft-neglected Carl Schmitt roots of the friend-enemy boundary common to illiberals such as Viktor Orban, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. While illiberalism does not necessarily trigger antisemitism, it might foster it. Shared illiberal values may quash differences in attitudes towards antisemitism and official postures on antisemitism are insufficient to be guided by when examining differences between official and popular discourses.