Development and challenges of organised interests under right-wing government: The case of Slovenia

Development of organised interests in Slovenia stagnated during most of the 20th century. Reversal has taken place from the 1990s onwards, first with democratic transition and later on with the Europeanization processes. Several opportunity structures for the involvement of organised interests in policymaking have been established, while neo-corporatist arrangement enabled regular social dialogue. The main obstacle for further development of organised interests has remained its low-level professionalization. At the end of 2020 the political environment for activities of organised interests has still been quite favourable with some exceptions including decreases in public image and few political attacks on some NGOs. However, in the last two years several international reports on the quality of democracy (e.g. V-Dem, Nations in Transit, Bertelsmann index etc.) have shown decline of democracy scores for Slovenia. Cases of democratic backsliding have had effects also on activities and operation of organised interests. Considering forthcoming parliamentary elections in 2022, this article aims to analyse the effects of right-wing government on 1) democratic backsliding of Slovenian state, and in this respect 2) the role and position of organised interests in Slovenia. The case of Slovenia is relevant due to its moves in policymaking towards the politics of Visegrad countries, especially Hungary and Poland. In the article we will apply combination of research methods, including conducting interviews with selected relevant organised interests, the analysis of reports prepared by national actors, international organizations and EU institutions (e.g. European Parliament), and analysis of relevant data on functioning of organised interests in Slovenia.