Democracy of the Carpathian type[1] (Slovak: demokracia karpatského typu) or Carpathian democracy[2] (Slovak: karpatská demokracia) is a pejorative term that began to be used in Slovak (initially mainly journalistic) practice in the 1990s. The term expresses the view that democracy in Slovakia does not function perfectly, and that this deficiency stems not from democracy itself as a form of political system, but from the political practice and political culture in Slovakia.[3][4] Thus, the concept of Carpathian democracy is perceived as a kind of "idiosyncratic type of democracy"[5] different from the standard form of democracy or as a "pseudo-democracy".[6]
The attribute "of the Carpathian type" began to be used later in the political and journalistic environment in Slovakia in other contexts expressing negative connotations.[15]
^Profantová, Zuzana (2009). Hodnota zmeny – zmena hodnoty: demarkačný rok 1989. Bratislava: Ústav etnológie SAV, Národopisná spoločnosť pri SAV. p. 154. ISBN978-80-88997-42-9.
^Surmánek, Štefan (1998). "Voľby 1998. Čo ďalej?". In Gbúrová, Marcela (ed.). Voľby 1998 v Slovenskej republike (stav-kontexty-perspektíva). Prešov: Prešovská univerzita. p. 145. ISBN80-88885-59-0.
^Golema, Andrej (1998). "November - súdy, sudcovia III". Justin: časopis Združenia sudcov Slovenska. 4 (4): 14. ISSN1336-0698.