EU enlargement has long been guided by the belief that democratic institutions, once established through external conditionality, become self-sustaining. This lecture revisits that assumption, arguing that the separation of economic integration from the continuous strengthening of political institutions—and the underestimation of the distributive consequences of Single Market integration, including the political uses of its corrective instruments—has, at times, weakened domestic support for democracy. Reflecting on the first wave of Eastern enlargement and the case of Ukraine, it suggests the need for a more integrated strategy linking markets, institutions, and social stabilisation.

Prof. Dr. László Bruszt, Director of the CEU Democracy Institute is Professor of Sociology at the Central European University. During the regime change in 1989 he served as National Secretary of the newly formed independent trade unions and has represented them in the Roundtable Negotiations. He started to teach at CEU in 1992 and has served as its Acting Rector and President in 1996/97. Between 2004 and 2016, he was teaching at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. His publications focus on issues of regime change and economic transformation. His more recent studies deal with the politics of economic integration of the Eastern and Southern peripheries of Europe.

The Dr. Elemér Hantos Prize is awarded periodically to a person, persons, or organisation for their efforts to promote Economic Cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. The Dr. Elemér Hantos Award is provided by the Central Europe Foundation of Zurich, Switzerland.