Dossier:

Focus on Hungary

The Heinrich Böll Foundation is compiling a dossier containing articles on the situation in Hungary since the right-wing government came to power in April 2010.

The arguments and opinions presented in the dossier provide an acute, sometimes trenchant critique of the current government and its policies. We see our role in supporting the democratic voices in Hungary and raising public attention in Europe with regard to critical developments in our common political space.

We hope that this dossier will help our readers get a better grasp of the controversies surrounding the socio-political changes in Hungary, and thereby involve members of the European public in the crucial debate on democracy in a changing Europe. This debate is not limited to current developments in Hungary. We see democracy as a never-finished task. There is no guarantee against retrogression, and it’s always up to citizens to reinforce democratic structures and procedures through their engagement in the public sphere.

Ellen Ueberschär, President, Heinrich Böll Foundation
Zsófia Deák, Editor of the dossier (zsofia.deak@cz.boell.org)

Latest articles
Budapest / stock photo

The victory of the laughing third

Analysis
Successful organization of the primaries, high voter turnout, and (partial) successes for most of the participating parties are all reasons for the Hungarian opposition to celebrate, but there is still a lot for them to do to win enough votes for a majority in the National Assembly, especially from small settlements. Forging their coalition party list will be the main source of future conflict, but the dynamics of the six-party machine are also threatened by an internal fight for domination over the alliance, and the ruling party could be an active actor in disrupting the unity of the opposition.
By Róbert László
More
iceberg stock photo

Climate, justice and citizens’ participation

Summary
Summary of the panel 'People's power vs Climate crisis' at the Budapest Forum on the 16th September 2021. The conference was co-organized by the Municipality of Budapest, Political Capital Institute and CEU Democracy Institute. Heinrich Böll Foundation was a strategic partner at the conference. The panel was moderated by Benedek Jávor, former MEP of The Greens/EFA, currently the Head of Representation of Budapest to Brussels. The keynote was delivered by Ellen Ueberschär, co-president of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
By Benedek Jávor

Why Orbán's "child protection referendum" makes no sense, and why it does

Article
Back in June, the Hungarian Parliament adopted a new law, the so-called "Child Protection Act, that resulted in a major international controversy and infringement procedures launched by the European Commission over its measures targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Seeking to reinforce these provisions on the European stage, Viktor Orbán recently announced a referendum on the regulations. Is it about protecting children, or is it a tool for Viktor Orbán in his domestic and European political battles? Analysis.
By Zoltán Kovács
Surveillance - stock photo

Pegasus in Hungary: A Surveillance State Unmasked

Analysis
The hacking of dissidents worldwide is even more widespread than we thought. This year’s largest cross-border investigative undertaking, the Pegasus Project, has revealed that at least 10 governments have used sophisticated Israeli spyware to gather information on human rights activists, independent journalists, and opposition politicians. The only EU member in the pool of offenders was Hungary. This might not be an unexpected development for most readers, but it is a further blow to both independent journalism and the sanctity of citizens’ privacy.
By Konrad Bleyer-Simon
Protests again the planned Fudan University campus

Chinese Fudan University plans in Budapest spark protests in Hungary

Analysis
Four years ago, thousands spilled onto the streets of Budapest to keep the acclaimed Central European University (CEU) there following Prime Minister Orbán’s witch hunt against its 1991 founder, the Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros and the institutions related to him. Despite massive national and international support for CEU, the government used a complicated set of accreditation requirements to push the university to relocate its American-accredited programmes and the bulk of its operations to Vienna.
By Anna Frenyó
All dossier articles
Publications

Political integration of Hungarian students, 2019

After a four-year absence, the Active Youth (Aktív Fiatalok) Research Group has
returned with a new survey about the political attitudes of higher education students
in Hungary. The significance of this year’s findings relies on the fact that the political
views of the majority of students sampled in this most recent survey – including
some born as recently as 2000 – were formed during consecutive terms of prime
minister Viktor Orbán and his government, considered by many political scientists
and commentators to be a hybrid regime.

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Building Blocks for a Renewed Human Rights Narrative

This study aims to lay the foundations of a collaboration that can be joined by other organisations still being formed, as well as by actors sharing human rights values who can reach out to additional potential supporters. This text is designed to be continuously expanded in the future, so as to further incorporate increasingly sensitive analyses along with a growing pool of creative ideas and recommendations.

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