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

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
More
Protest against the new anti-LGBT bill in Budapest.

Inhuman Calculations: How the Hungarian Government Selects a Group to be Scapegoated

Analysis
On 15 June, the majority of Hungarian MPs ­– representatives of the Hungarian Civic Alliance (FIDESZ) and the Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) – voted for a bill that contained several provisions added to the original draft act, originally intended to enhance the protection of children and tighten sanctions against pedophile offenders. These new provisions introduce an explicit, harsh ban on the "portrayal and the promotion of gender identity different from sex at birth, the change of sex and homosexuality" for persons under the age of 18.
By Bea Sándor
Budapest

The sociopolitical requirements of a potential democratic transition in Hungary

Analysis
What might be done with PM Orbán’s political system after a potential opposition victory in 2022, considering that it is built mostly on informal power and privatized economic-financial resources? These questions are currently being debated mainly as issues of public law. Unfortunately, little is being said about the sociopolitical requirements for the democratic transition the opposition so desires.
By Róbert László
All dossier articles

Campaign to support Hungarian NGOs

The Hungarian taxpayers have a chance to offer 1% of their tax to NGOs each year, however not so many (more than 50% of the taxpayers) are either don't know about this possibility or they just don't pay attention to it. Moreover, the Hungarian government has been trying to hide this option, or at least make it harder to offer the 1% of the tax, therefore money won't get to the NGOs critical to them. This year the Hungarian NGOs decided to do an unusual joint campaign to promote this possibility, therefore a music video was made which primarily targets the young generation. The video is about a lame and spoiled guy (played by a popular young actor, Márkó Linczényi) who is complaining about many annoying first world problems. Though he pays attention to offer his 1% of the tax for the NGOs, because its a serious topic, and it goes beyond our everyday problems, since it's very important for others who have to handle harder situations than the marginal daily issues. 

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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Interview-Series "Agents of Change"

Cultures of History Forum

In this special feature of the Cultures of History Forum the authors seek to place the ‘Lex CEU’ in a broader context, both regionally and historically, and ask what the state of academic freedom, civil society and liberal values is in the countries that came out of communist dictatorships more than 25 years ago.

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