‘Who has been denied equality and why?’ – Disability movements in changing and eroding democracies of Central and Eastern Europe

Disability is rarely studied in the context of democracy even though disabled people represent 16% of the population and the disabled people’s movement has been influencing laws and policies in all modern democracies. This study explored how disability movements work in changing and eroding democracies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Data was collected in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Serbia.

The study confirms that democratization and de-democratization influence disability movements and their position. Although the inclusion of disability movements in policy-making has been established through formal consultative and monitoring platforms, disability movements’ participation in policy-making remains mostly tokenistic in CEE. Democratic backsliding affects movements’ coalition-building capacities, and mobilization becomes harder. Where democratic erosion is stronger, movement organizations exercise self-censorship and avoid open criticism of government politics. The study argues that reactions to democratic erosion are influenced by movement organizations’ resources, their embeddedness in state structures, and other factors. The paper offers a typology of disability movement organizations in CEE and points at potential risks for re-democratization efforts.