„Zniekształcona demokracja” differentia specifica reżimu przejściowego/ hybrydowego na przykładzie państw bałkańskich – szkic rozważań teoretyczno-sytuacyjnych

The purpose of the article was an attempt to answer 4 fundamental questions: of “distorted democracy” and “transitional/hybrid regime” are to each other, secondly; which of the Balkan states are stigmatized by the phenomenon of “distorted democracy” and their political system is assessed as a transitional/hybrid regime, thirdly; whether it is possible to establish a common situational context for these countries that influences the assessment of the democratization of the transforming political systems, fourthly; what are the reasons for this state of affairs. For this purpose, the Freedom House Nations in Tranist Reports from 2021, 2022 and 2023 were analyzed regarding the Balkan countries characterized by a transitional/hybrid regime in alphabetical order: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia. These reports clearly confirm the presence of phenomena that significantly weaken the democratization process of the Balkan countries, which is called “distorted democracy”, which is an inherent feature of transitional/hybrid regimes. The situational context for the analyzed countries is almost the same. There are still problems with the functioning of democratic institutions, compliance with norms and procedures, as well as a lack of acceptance expressed in attitudes and