Converging Paths? Generational Change and Ideological Alignment in Post-Communist Europe

Research on attitude organization has highlighted the distinctiveness of post-communist countries, where the alignment of economic left-right and socio-cultural (GAL/TAN) dimensions diverges from patterns observed in Western Europe. This post-communist exceptionalism has been attributed to the legacies of communist regimes and transitional processes. However, more than 35 years after the fall of communism, a new generation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has come of age, socialized within the context of EU accession, NATO membership, globalization, and intercultural exchange. These developments raise critical questions about whether the structure of political attitudes in CEE is converging with the more standardized ideological configurations seen in Western Europe. This paper examines this potential convergence using original survey data from Czechia, Lithuania, and Hungary (n = 4,500), three countries representing diverse post-communist trajectories and varying levels of democratic backsliding. Employing correlational class analysis, we identify multiple belief structure groups within these populations. While some groups maintain fragmented or distinct configurations, over one-third display ideological patterns resembling those found in Western Europe. In an exploratory extension, we further characterize these groups based on socio-economic profiles and voting behaviors, uncovering nuanced trends that merit further investigation. Additionally, we investigate whether these ideological configurations—both within and across generations—are associated with varying levels of affective polarization, defined as the intensity of negative attitudes toward political outgroups. By linking generational change, belief structures, and partisan hostility, this study deepens our understanding of the interplay between ideological convergence and polarization in CEE. By situating CEE within a comparative framework, this research sheds light on the evolving nature of political belief systems, contributing to broader debates on ideological alignment, generational shifts, and the persistence of polarization in contemporary democracies.