Known as the Visegrad Group, or V4, the alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia was formed in 1993, with all countries accessing the European Union nearly a decade later, in 2004.  In recent years, these four countries have become an area of increasing political concern and analysis, as their leaders have moved towards a more Eurosceptic stance, widening the so-called east-west divide in the EU. The V4 countries, particularly Poland and Hungary, have largely shifted to self-described “illiberal democracies” that mark a turn away from political liberalism, with some countries consolidating extraordinary government prerogatives and limiting constitutional provisions that once nurtured an environment promoting the rule of law and a free and open society. These countries’ disillusionment over the handling of recent crises, most notably the refugee crisis, has created a backlash in which the V4 is challenging the decisions made in Brussels while at the same time still benefiting greatly from EU membership, particularly through structural and cohesion funds.   

Introduction
Pol Morillas and Kiera Hepford, Barcelona Centre for International Affairs

The West’s Polymorphic Crisis and their Impact on the Visegrad Group
Marek A.Cichocki, Natolin European Centre, Poland

V4 Migration Policy: Conflicting Narratives and Interpretative Frameworks
Máté Szalai, Zsuzsanna Csornai and Nikolett Garai, Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary

Illiberal Democracy in Hungary: The Social Background and Practical Steps of Building an Illiberal State
András Bíró-Nagy, Policy Solutions, Hungary

The New Iron Curtain? The V4 and the Refugee Crisis as Seen from the Polish Perspective
Jarosław Kuisz, Kultura Liberalna, Poland

Poland after November 2015: The End of the Rule of Law or a Phase of “Radical Democracy”?
Katarzyna Szymielewicz, Panoptykon Foundation, Poland

Central Europe and the Rise of Nationalism: The Case of the Czech Republic
Michal Vít, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, Czech Republic