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. Democracy is a never-finished task, and 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.

Zsófia Deák, Editor of the dossier (zsofia.deak@cz.boell.org)

Latest articles
image of Viktor Orbán walking confidently among photographers

The building of Hungarian political influence - The Orbán regime's efforts to export illiberalism

study
International influence-building is a legitimate goal pursued by all nations to expand their room for manoeuvre and enforce their political, security and economic interests. However, Orbán’s influence-building efforts have several specific features that differ from the practice of democratic countries. This study by Political Capital analyses Orbán’s international alliance building efforts.
By Political Capital
More
a hand raised in the air, with the symbol of the teachers' protest: an exclamation mark in a circle.

The key to countering the Orbán regime is hard work, not a miracle

analysis
Since April 2010, when Orbán's government was first given the constitutional mandate to govern by a democratic election, countless large-scale demonstrations against them have taken place in Budapest. Yet the regime is still in place. Moreover, in April 2022, it received a constitutional majority for the fourth consecutive time. This ostensible contradiction needs to be understood if a viable alternative with a chance of victory is to emerge in the increasingly autocratic state of Hungary.
By Andrea Szabó
an image of two large billboards depicting a bomb labelled "sanctions" and the text "Brussel's sanctions are destroying us"

Orbán's regime set out to promote political realignment in Europe

analysis
A recent EP report on the risk Hungary poses upon the values of the Union stated that "the lack of decisive EU action has contributed to a breakdown in democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary, turning the country into a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy". Despite this unusually clear definition, there are still doubts about effectively addressing the rule of law problem within the EU.
By Róbert László
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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