Democracy at a crossroads? The Czech parliamentary elections and their implications

Jessie Barton Hronešová is Lecturer in Political Sociology at UCL SSEES with a focus on Central and Southeast Europe. Her research explores the role of narratives in shaping politics, memory, and identity, and she has published widely on these topics. She has also advised international organisations and governments on policy issues relating to transitional justice, democracy, and post-war reconstruction in Central and Southeast Europe.

Sean's research interests include party politics, democratic backsliding and resilience, and the decline of the left in Central and Eastern Europe. He has a longstanding special interest in Czech politics and regularly contributes comment and analysis on Czech and wider Central and Eastern European politics for outlets such as France 24, Sky News, Euronews, Policy Network, EUROPP, and iHned.cz.

Michael Škvrňák is also an analyst for PAQ Research. He specialises in the study of political elites, political careers, and the quality of democracy, and also works on data analysis and social policy research at PAQ Research. He has authored or co-authored publications on topics including the impact of election pledges, coalition formation, incumbency effects in Czech regional elections, and the relationship between participation and satisfaction with democracy in Central and Eastern Europe.

is assistant professor at the Department of Political Science at Charles University in Prague, where she focuses on the intersection of culture wars, religious movements, and secularism in Central and South Eastern Europe. She co-edited the book Central European Culture Wars: Beyond Post-Communism and Populism and has also published extensively on  Islam, secularism, feminism, and morality politics in Central/Eastern Europe and the Balkans.