Focus on Hungary

A recent opinion poll by 21 Research Centre investigated how Hungarian people perceive different media outlets in the country and how they access political information.

One of the most important contemporary Hungarian thinkers, the once-liberal, later Marxist philosopher, the writer and scathing political critic, Gáspár Miklós Tamás (also known as TGM), passed away at the age of 74 on 15 January 2023 in Budapest.

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.

While the war in Ukraine has further reshaped the V4’s power dynamic, the Hungarian Government seeks allies outside of mainstream Euroatlantic cooperation to overcome its self-defeating isolation.

Russia's open military aggression against Ukraine has provoked strong reactions around the world. The V4 countries, whose outwardly apparent unity seemed to be crumbling, also took a stance. How serious is the schism between Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic on the one side and Hungary on the other? Is the breakdown of V4 inevitable or is there still a room for cooperation? Slovak political scientist Grigorij Mesežnikov reflects on the current state the Visegrad Group finds itself in.

In 2018, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated he wanted to establish a "new social contract" with Hungarian women about their role in the future of Hungary, as the demographic future of the country hinges on them. This article observes the effects of Orbán's pronatalist policies of the past decade.

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.

Czechia has firsthand experience with a prominent politician controlling his media. Therefore, we must not stay on the sidelines. It is of the utmost importance that Czechia support the creation of this legislation, MEP Marcel Kolaja (Czech Pirate Party, Greens/EFA) says regarding the Media Freedom Act.