Hungarian Government Research Articles

Some aspects to consider to build teachers' job satisfaction: A comparative study of Uzbek and Hungarian teacher appraisals

The initiative of the Hungarian government to introduce a new teacher appraisal system within the whole-scale teacher assessment made us review the operational teacher career models and teacher appraisal frameworks linked to salary schemes in the world and compare the planned Hungarian model with the Uzbek teacher career model and teacher appraisal framework. The comparison includes the evolution of appraisals, their procedures, criteria, and methodology. Our study proposes some ideas for decision-makers to consider when introducing or modifying teacher assessment frameworks so that they can better contribute to teachers' well-being and to improving the quality of work in education.

Public debate about the model change in Hungarian higher education: The representation of radical changes in university governance in Hungary in politically opposing online newspapers between 2019 and 2021

The Hungarian higher education (HE) system went through a transformation, the so-called “model change” in the last years. During this process, the majority of public HE institutions were transformed into institutions maintained by private foundations. This paper focuses on the media representation of this transformation by analysing all relevant articles about the transformation (169 in total), published between 2019 and 2021 from two of the most active online journals on the topic representing the main opposite political sides (mno.hu and hvg.hu). Our analysis reveals the main actors as well as the arguments for and against the model change. The media representation in the Hungarian context is particularly important because there was not any governmental White Paper about the process. Therefore, Hungarian media served as the primary source of information to the public about the goals (and later the critiques) of the model change. However, the inner structures of the pros and cons expose how the two sides talk at cross-purposes, with minimal reactions to the arguments of the ‘other side’. This resulted in „monologizing” instead of any real dialogue.

The participatory budgeting and the collaborative governance movement at the Hungarian local government level

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of participatory budgeting (PB) practices in Hungary by exploring the experiences of three local governments. The research specifically investigates the environmental conditions conducive to PB adoption, internal organizational factors influencing its success and the short- and long-term outcomes of the process. Although in well-developed democracies attributed with active local communities has a long tradition in participation and cooperation between government and citizens, the Hungarian context offers a unique examination of participatory budgeting (PB) due to the developing civil sector and historical mistrust between government and civil society. However, in the context of increasing governmental centralization, local initiatives advocating for citizen-driven budgets are emerging. This research explores the feasibility of implementing participatory budgeting in this challenging environment. The interplay of a fledgling civil sector, entrenched scepticism, and centralization provides a distinctive backdrop for understanding PB dynamics in Hungary.

Whatever happened to Hungarian freedom fighters? Collective memory, collective forgetting, and dissociative collective identity

As the war in Ukraine unfolds, the Hungarian government seems less enthusiastic about the idea of state sovereignty than one might have anticipated given Hungary’s historic past. Moreover, there is a surge of pro-Russian sentiment among government supporters. This is counterintuitive in light of prevailing mnemonic practices which put heavy emphasis on Hungary’s struggle for freedom and independence. The new developments suggest that the role of collective memory in collective identity formation needs to be reconsidered, especially concerning the apparent inhibition of otherwise persistent and widely shared memories. The article discusses the problem in the context of socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting and social identity complexity theory. It puts forward two complementary arguments: (1) this Janus-faced public behaviour might be accounted for by selective commemorative practices of the government and (2) how memories of historical events sustain a shared sense of belonging and continuity is not only contingent on group membership but also on the ever-changing group interest.

THE POLITICS OF FIDESZ-KDNP OF HUNGARY UNDER V. ORBÁN IN WESTERN MEDIA, 2010-2024

This article offers a comprehensive analysis of Western media coverage of the Hungarian government's political course under Viktor Orban and the FIDESZ-KDNP coalition from 2010 to 2024. The study encompasses a wide range of aspects of Hungary's domestic and foreign policy, tracing the evolution of "Orbanism" perception in international media discourse. The author examines in detail the key themes that dominated Western media regarding Hungary, namely: The transformation of the country's democratic system and discussions around the concept of "illiberal democracy". Systematic conflicts between Hungary and the European Union, especially on issues of rule of law and democratic values. Hungary's strict migration policy and its impact on European policy in this area. Economic reforms known as "Orbanomics" and their controversial perception in the international arena. Changes in Hungary's media landscape and discussions about press freedom. Hungary's foreign policy course, including its relations with Russia, China, the USA, and neighboring countries. Special attention is paid to the impact of the Hungarian governance model on regional politics in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as its perception by right-wing and conservative movements in Europe and the USA. The article also examines the dynamics of Hungary's relations with the EU and NATO, particularly in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine and Hungary's position on this conflict. The research is based on a wide range of Western media sources, including leading newspapers, magazines, television channels, and online publications. The author traces changes in the tone and focus of coverage of Hungarian politics during the specified period, identifying key trends and turning points in the international perception of Hungary. The article also examines Western media's reaction to Hungary's presidency of the Council of the European Union. The author summarizes the main trends in Western media coverage of Hungarian politics and assesses their impact on Hungary's international reputation and its relations with key partners.

Leveraging Crises: How the Russian Aggression in Ukraine Benefited the Populist Government in Hungary’s 2022 Election Campaigns

This article contributes to the literature focusing on the relationship between crises and populism. It argues that the timing, the crisis type, and the contextual factor of whether populists are in power, matter for changes in the discursive strategies of populists and their ability to turn crises into opportunity structures. Guided by the constructivist literature on external shocks and a thematic content analysis of 561 online media news reports on the 2022 Hungarian national elections before and after the outbreak of the Russian aggression in Ukraine (RAiU), the article shows that this crisis helped to refresh the people-centrist elements of Fidesz’s populist discourse while slightly downgrading its anti-elitist aspects. The absence of any material impact of the RAiU on Hungarian society at the time of the elections, combined with the dominance of Fidesz’s ‘pro-peace vs. pro-war’ discourse, transformed the RAiU into an opportunity structure for Fidesz during the elections.

Unique, better, model, leader: Claims of exceptionality in Hungary’s foreign policy and beyond

In the IR literature, devoting attention to small state exceptionalism remains the exception. This paper aims to rectify this situation by analyzing claims of exceptionality of the successive Orbán governments of Hungary. It aims to shed light on Hungary’s foreign policy by making two core claims. First, based on a diverse range of sources, it shows that successive Hungarian governments have increasingly come to conceptualize Hungary as an exceptional, trail-blazing, model country in foreign policy and beyond, especially after 2018. Secondly, the paper shows how claims of exceptionality can lead to resentment and isolation in foreign policy, if and when they go hand-in-hand with collective narcissism.

Backsliding Populist Governments in the Council: The Case of the Hungarian Fidesz

Populist governments aim to fundamentally challenge the EU, raising the question of when and how backsliding populist governments disrupt decision-making in the Council of the EU (hereafter Council). Due to their anti-elite and strong anti-EU stance, along with their opposition to core values of liberal democracy, I argue that these governments are more inclined to resort to <em>unpolitics</em>, understood as “unsettlement.” Analysing the behaviour of the Hungarian Fidesz government in the Council, the article demonstrates that populist governments resort to unpolitics but use an à la carte approach. Populist backsliding governments selectively oppose the Council’s formal and informal decision-making rules. Looking at the voting behaviour in the Council since 2009, the article shows that the Fidesz government preserves the norm of consensus. However, over time, it has become the government that has most often broken with this norm. Conversely, when it comes to “backsliding-inhibiting competences,” the Fidesz government challenges both formal and informal rules through a wide range of strategies, i.e., systematically contesting the legality of procedures and decisions, embracing a confrontational approach and diplomacy, self-victimisation, bending the truth, and accusatory rhetoric. To illustrate them, the article focuses on decisions related to the dismantlement of the rule of law in the country, such as Article 7 TEU, the application of Regulation 2020/2092, and the disbursement of Cohesion funds.

Shades of Resistance: Factors Influencing Populist Mobilization Against the EU Budgetary Conditionality Regime

Although the past decade has shown how populist governments may challenge the EU’s budgetary framework, we still lack an understanding of the circumstances under which populists are more likely to mobilize against EU-level decision-making in this field, and what this mobilization may look like. Combining the literature on populism as an ideology and EU decision-making, the article zooms in on the negotiations regarding the general regime of conditionality in EU budgetary politics and argues that economic and political factors have influenced populist mobilization. A qualitative comparison of the nine cases where populist parties feature in the government highlights that only two countries, Poland and Hungary, have actively opposed the introduction of the so-called rule-of-law conditionality. A closer look indicates that a combination of Euroscepticism, European Parliamentary affiliation, membership in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the political power that populist parties possess at home, along with key macroeconomic indicators, have influenced populists in government to mobilize against the conditionality mechanism. In the second part of the analysis, the article showcases the actions of the Hungarian government, highlighting it as a specific example of populist mobilization. Viktor Orbán’s government has built a populist narrative around the issue, questioned the norm of the decision-making process, exerted a veto to block the agreement temporarily, and later challenged the regulation in court—in short, it engaged in unpolitics.

Popular autocrats: why do voters support Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary? A quantitative analysis

AbstractAuthoritarian populism has become an increasingly prevalent subtype of hybrid regime and is characterized by weakened democratic institutions and a leader who relies on populist appeals. Authoritarian populist regimes limit citizens’ freedom, undermine accountability and the rule of law, and are likely to be more corrupt than democratic regimes. Nevertheless, certain authoritarian populist regimes appear to enjoy broad popular support. Based on the European Social Survey database and my calculations of respondents’ personal income tax rates, I investigate the factors that influenced voters’ support for Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary from 2010 to 2020, which may be considered an exemplary case of an autocratic populist regime. The analysis shows that voters’ support for the government was influenced by their perceptions of the economy and government performance, political beliefs (i.e., policy congruence and ideology), and basic human values (i.e., self-transcendence and conservation). By contrast, changes in voters’ individual economic conditions were not found to be associated with their support for the government. The findings indicate that, in addition to explanations of government support that specifically focus on hybrid regimes, economic voting theory, which originated from and has typically been applied in democratic contexts, also provides viable explanations for understanding support for authoritarian populist regimes. More broadly, the findings also lend support to the altruistic and expressive voter hypotheses.

UKRAINIAN MEDIA ON HUNGARY'S PRESIDENCY OF THE EU COUNCIL

This article examines the reaction and coverage by Ukrainian media of Hungary's presidency of the Council of the European Union. The aim of the article is to analyze and systematize the approaches of Ukrainian media to covering Hungary's presidency of the EU Council, assess their impact on shaping public opinion in Ukraine on this issue, and explore how the media interpret the potential consequences of the Hungarian presidency for Ukraine's European integration aspirations and its support from the EU in the context of Russian aggression. The relevance of the topic is due to the complex Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and Hungary's ambiguous position on the Russian-Ukrainian war, which causes concern in Ukrainian society and media space. The paper analyzes key aspects of this topic's coverage by leading Ukrainian media, including news portals, analytical publications, and television channels. Special attention is paid to how the media interpret the potential impact of the Hungarian presidency on EU support for Ukraine and Ukraine's European integration process. The study reveals that Ukrainian media demonstrate a balanced but vigilant approach to covering this topic. They carefully analyze statements and actions of the Hungarian government, especially regarding issues related to Ukraine. The media also focus on possible contradictions between the official EU position and Hungary's position on supporting Ukraine. The article also examines how Ukrainian media involve expert assessments for deeper analysis of the situation and its potential consequences. It highlights the media's role in shaping public opinion on this issue and their contribution to understanding complex geopolitical processes. Special attention is paid to how Ukrainian media cover this issue in the context of ongoing Russian aggression, which adds particular urgency to the discussion. It analyzes how media balance between the need for objective coverage and a patriotic position in wartime conditions. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the important role of Ukrainian media in shaping public discourse on international politics and Ukraine's European integration processes. It stresses the need for further development of a critical and analytical approach in media to ensure full and objective information to society about complex international relations and their impact on Ukraine.

WEAPONIZATION OF HISTORICAL TRAUMA NARRATIVES IN HUNGARY, RUSSIA AND TURKIYE, AND THEIR POTENTIAL IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

In this paper we point out the significant impact that historical trauma narratives may have on the current international security environment, especially in our area. To this end, we will analyze the impact of historical trauma narratives spread by the elites and governments of Hungary, Russia and Turkiye, which are meant to justify and fuel policies, attitudes and strategies that have a potential negative impact on regional security. This exact same type of narrative has fuelled the justification for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are also fuelling aggressive and revisionist foreign policies from Ankara and Budapest, creating a climate of tension and security risks in our region. While there are definitely various real historical traumas and suffering that need to be properly addressed and reconciled with throughout the world, there are also cynical weaponizations of these traumas, manipulated by politicians and academics alike, for personal, political, and geopolitical benefits.

ADALÉKOK AZ ÖNÁLLÓ KÁRPÁTALJAI MAGYAR TANNYELVŰ FELSŐOKTATÁS TÖRTÉNETÉHEZ

This study aims to present the path leading to the establishment of independent Hungarian-language higher education in Transcarpathia. Transcarpathia, as a region and administrative unit, was established within the territory of the Czechoslovak Republic following World War I. After World War II, the region became part of Soviet Ukraine. The first higher education institution in Transcarpathia was the Uzhhorod State University, established by the Soviet regime in 1945. In 1963, a Hungarian department was established at the university, followed by the Department of Hungarian Philology two years later. The establishment of the Hungarian college of Higher Education in Berehove, which currently operates as the only independent Hungarian-language higher education institution in Transcarpathia, established the power shifts following Ukraine declares its independence and the period of higher education expansion. Local advocacy organizations and the Hungarian government played a decisive role in the establishment of the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, ensuring the supply of teachers for Hungarian-language schools in Transcarpathia.

Applying Negative Soft Power? Examining Hungary’s Digital Criticism of the European Union

This study examines how Hungary’s criticism of the European Union (EU) is reflected in its digital diplomacy efforts. It proposes that systematic criticism of the bloc can be seen as a deliberate use of negative soft power, a tactic that involves portraying others in an unfavourable context. To address the research objective, the study examines the Twitter (now known as X) diplomacy of 40 Hungarian government officials in 2021–2022 and identifies EU-related content and criticism through a semi-automatic content analysis. The results show that while a few central government users systematically and explicitly criticise the EU, other actors balance condemnation with neutral and positive posts. The findings, therefore, indicate that Hungary’s systemic weakness limits the pure export of national discourses and forces soft power strategies to mix critical commentary with neutral and positive representation.

History meets the ‘mafia state’? Hungary and the (de)securitisation of built cultural heritage in Slovakia

ABSTRACT The article examines the securitisation of Hungarian purchases of cultural built heritage in Slovakia in 2021–2023. It demonstrates that, while the material existence of this heritage had not been in any way endangered, it nevertheless became intimately intertwined with the broader anxieties and fears of irredentism and territorial revisionism, stemming from persisting conflicts in memory politics and from the Hungarian government’s controversial and non-transparent approach to its neighbours. It demonstrates how the conflicting national(ist) narratives are reinforced by a lack of basic transparency, resulting from the political economy and power techniques of the ‘illiberal’ political regimes which some political scientists dub ‘the mafia state’. The article draws on insights from critical security studies, critical heritage studies and the ontological security theory.

From Liberal Democracy to Illiberal Populist Autocracy: Possible Reasons for Hungary’s Autocratization

The paper looks for the main reasons of how was the Hungarian government of the Fidesz Party lead by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán able to within 13 years undermine the independent checks on their power so that it could convert what had looked like a stable but imperfect democracy into an autocracy? After listing the most obvious reasons the paper looks particularly at, how much is the way of a mostly elite-driven democratic transition using the tools of ‚legal constitutionalism‘and ‚undemocratic liberalism‘without real historical traditions of a liberal democratic constitutional culture and with the regionally determined value system is to blame. This also leads to the question, how to allocate the responsibility for the backsliding between the elites and the citizens, influenced and often manipulated by the leaders.

The Concentration of Emergency Competencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hungary: A Lack of Effective Control

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a major challenge not only to the effectiveness of health crisis management by national governments but also to the democratic functioning of states. This article describes how the institutional guarantees of the democratic exercise of power in Hungary malfunctioned. The operation of Parliament and local self-governments as representative bodies, the Constitutional Court, the Ombudsperson, and the courts as control- and judicial-type institutions will be analysed vis-à-vis the Hungarian Government's action. The study thus aims to reveal how the systematic challenges and diminishing role of local self-governments in collaborative crisis management are not an outstanding and isolated problem, but part of the systematic autocratic regime change in Hungary accelerated by the COVID-19-related special legal order.

How Misuse of Emergency Powers Dismantled the Rule of Law in Hungary

AbstractThe Hungarian government has been utilising emergencies to expand its political power instead of upholding constitutionalism and the rule of law. This strategy has given the government almost unlimited power to enact emergency decrees, even when the state and the population are not in immediate danger. The ninth amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary has raised concerns about the government's use of emergency powers, granting the executive branch even more authority during exceptional times by allowing the government to prolong the ‘state of exception’ indefinitely and maintain pandemic-related emergency measures to respond to potential consequences of the war in Ukraine. As a result, the executive body has been able to exert significant political control without proper parliamentary oversight.

Regulation of Assisted Reproduction in Hungary

Following the implementation of state oversight of human reproductive procedures in 2020, several regulations have been introduced to mitigate potential issues. To enhance patient care and alleviate the workload of IVF centers, a network of specialized infertility outpatient clinics will be established alongside existing centers of assisted reproduction. These changes aim to address the challenges faced by infertility centers and improve the chances of patients having children. The policy currently allows for up to five insurance-funded treatment cycles, while cryopreserved embryo transfers are not subject to a specific limit. Furthermore, the previous threemonth waiting period between treatment cycles has been eliminated, and restrictions on the number of embryos that can be implanted have been implemented. Limiting the number of embryos transferred during IVF procedures is a common practice aimed at reducing the risks associated with multiple pregnancies. By allowing only one embryo for the first transfer up to the age of 36, especially when transferred on day five of embryonic development, this initiative prioritizes the health and safety of both the mother and potential offspring. It helps to minimize the chances of complications such as preterm birth and low birth weight, which are more common with multiple pregnancies. Additionally, it can improve the overall success rates of IVF by focusing on the quality of the transferred embryo rather than the quantity. The Hungarian government anticipates that these measures will enhance the success rates of IVF treatments, consequently leading to a rise in future childbirths and a decrease in the number of frozen embryos. This study aims to delineate the effectiveness of the introduced changes in 2023 and provide recommendations accordingly.

Understanding Hungary’s Support for Persecuted Christians: Scrutinising Religious Motives for Giving Aid

Religion is increasingly acknowledged as a driving force behind development processes; however, it has received little attention as a motivation for donors to give aid. The article analyses the stated motivations and hidden agendas behind the Hungarian government’s ‘Hungary Helps’ aid programme, aimed at supporting Christian communities in the Global South and reducing migration to Europe. The programme fits with the government’s rhetoric on religion and migration, however, the article reveals inconsistencies that suggest further motivations. While there is little evidence that there was domestic demand for such a programme, it has been used instrumentally to increase Hungary’s influence among Christian interest groups and their political allies in the USA.