The Political Theories, Preconditions and Dangers of the Governing Populism in Hungary

Abstract

This study aims to explore the political theoretical background of governing populism in Hungary. It has been argued here that the political success of Viktor Orbán’s Governments are based on mixing three main political theoretical pillars: 1) the concept of the Political elaborated by Carl Schmitt; 2) the Weberian concept leader democracy; 3) and political constitutionalism. What is common in these three tendencies is the promise of repoliticisation. I will elaborate in this study that elitist populism and illiberal democracy are the two core concepts which can synchronize and converge the various (and sometimes contradictory) political theoretical backgrounds of Orbán’s regime. I also put forward here that the populist promise of political leadership is inherently false, because instead of repoliticisation, populist forces monopolize political representation and liquidate political responsibility.