Democratization in the east : A comparative study of democracy in Poland and Ukraine

This thesis has covered the democratic development of Poland and Ukraine from 2010 to 2021. The purpose of this study is to test if Merkel’s theory of embedded and defect democracy together with the addition of Boogaard’s diffusely defect democracy can explain the development in Poland and Ukraine. The questions that will be answered are: Shall Poland and Ukraine be classified as embedded or defect democracies?What are the differences and similarities in these countries’ classifications between 2010 and 2021?Is Merkel’s theory about embedded and defect democracy able to explain the development from 2010 to 2021?Poland and Ukraine were classified as diffusely defect democracies. There are some similarities between Poland and Ukraine regarding the rule of law, but Ukraine is more defect than Poland. Merkel’s theory is a better explanation for Ukraine than Poland due to that Ukraine has had the defects during a longer period