Hungary

Andrea Pető, a historian and professor at Hungary’s Central European University, discusses the struggles of women’s rights activists and organisations in the context of illiberal governments, arguing that identifying the mechanisms which undermine or threaten to roll back social progress helps us to better understand these forces.

Why is Hungary’s Central European University under threat? One of its professors explains what’s going on.

Why is Hungary’s President Viktor Orbán cracking down on projects funded by Soros?

By playing upon fears linked to social insecurities and loss of national identity, as well as threats to national security, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán seeks to position himself as the sole protector of his nation.

Between Brexit and the rise of illiberal democracies the pressure to reorient the European project has never been more intense.

In 2013, Rui Tavares, then Portuguese Member of the European Parliament among the Greens-EFA group, put forward a report that investigated the threats to fundamental rights that Orban’s government had given rise to in Hungary since 2010, and proposed mechanisms for a common European response to such actions, both in Hungary and potential future similar cases.

Viktor Orbán’s evolving relations with the oligarchs both in Hungary and the wider region are having serious effects on Hungary’s energy strategy. Now, Putin is in town for meetings that will no doubt result in a new contract for the supply of gas, a development which will be to the benefit of a minority and to the detriment of most of the population, and which could also lead to tensions arising with the EU.

Hungary has become an interesting test case for integration and migration policies especially with regard to co-ethnic immigration (those of Hungarian descent born in other countries) and of course the migration of people from other EU countries. This complex relationship is not without lessons on exclusion and inclusion.

As the Hungarian government continues to receive criticism for its undemocratic ‘reforms’, LMP co-founder Kristóf Szombati discusses whether they mark a return of nationalist ideology to Europe.