The “Hungarian Model” – the dialectical relationship of the Self and the Other on the background of the 2015 refugee crisis

Abstract

ABSTRACT In times of ontological insecurity, identities face pressures of reformulation and doubts over their legitimacy. By analysing the discursive practices of the Hungarian Prime Minister, the following paper addresses the complex process of Hungarian identity construction. Drawing on the intellectual heritage of symbolic interactionism and linking it to the current post-structuralist research, I stress the interconnection of foreign policy and the dialectical Self-Other relationship. Additionally, the article strengthens the argument of previous studies claiming that the Prime Minister intensifies the “othering” in his discourse to gain support for his vision of the Hungarian identity and simultaneously increase the support of voters for his party.