All Contents for Hungary

Deny, Deter, Deprive: the demolishment of the asylum system in Hungary

The Hungarian Government’s asylum policy can be summed up in three principles: deny, deter, deprive. Over the past four years, these principles have led to the dismantling of the Hungarian asylum system. Three distinct junctures can help us understand the current situation and how it came about. Each raises serious concerns on its own and taken together, they completely hollow out the right to seek asylum.

Gergely Karácsony, the new mayor of budapest

Karácsony: It has become obvious that there is an alternative to the Fidesz party

Interview

Gergely Karácsony, the new Mayor of Budapest, was elected by more than 50 percent of the vote on the 13th of October. In addition to winning the race for the mayorship, the opposition now has a majority in the Budapest City Council too. This was not just an important victory for the green politician, but for the whole opposition, which after a 13-year spell of political setbacks won not just many districts in Budapest, but also several key cities across the country. We spoke with the newly-elected Mayor of Budapest about the current state of the Hungarian green movement and the possible strategies for the opposition.

Gergely Karácsony, the Budapest mayoral candidate representing the opposition parties

The Stakes of the Local Government Elections in Hungary

Analysis

On October 13, local government elections will be held in Hungary. No election campaign has ever been as rude as this one. Who will benefit from this phenomenon?

Flags at European Commission building, Brussels

The Wrong Man in the Wrong Place

Analysis

After the rejection of László Trócsányi, the first candidate of the illiberal Hungarian PM for the European Commission, the country’s acting ambassador to the EU, Olivér Várhelyi, was soon afterwards nominated by Viktor Orbán to the position.

By Benedek Jávor

Protesters are waving an EU and a Hungarian flag

Transforming the opposition in Hungary after the EP elections

Analysis

The European Parliamentary elections have stirred up Hungarian politics. Though the support for the governing party Fidesz seems to be unwavering, the power relations have changed in the opposition.

By András Jámbor

“Bitter experiences” reconsidered: paradigm change in Holocaust memorialisation

Analysis

The Holocaust narrative elevated the moral command of “Never Again” into a measure of universal integrity. But now a major paradigm change is happening in Holocaust memorialisation that will have a major impact on European identity.

By Andrea Pető

Political integration of Hungarian students, 2019

After a four-year absence, the Active Youth (Aktív Fiatalok) Research Group has returned with a new survey about the political attitudes of higher education students in Hungary. The significance of this year’s findings relies on the fact that the political views of the majority of students sampled in this most recent survey – including some born as recently as 2000 – were formed during consecutive terms of prime minister Viktor Orbán and his government, considered by many political scientists and commentators to be a hybrid regime.

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The situation in Hungary is unchanged

Analysis

Political Capital’s analysis of the relationship between the European People’s Party (EPP) and Fidesz, Fidesz’s suspension, and its consequences in Hungary.

By Attila Juhász

Parallel judiciary system in Hungary is to the Government's taste

Analysis

The Hungarian government is about to form a parallel judiciary system where politically sensitive cases could be moved.

By Bernadette Somody

The Battle of the Academy: The war on academic freedom in Hungary enters its next phase

Analysis

After months of aggressive attacks by the Hungarian government, it's most likely that the three-decade history of the Academy as a free, autonomous public body will be brought to an abrupt end.

By Zoltán Gábor Szűcs