by Christopher Taylor | Apr 4, 2018 | Yale University
On July 30, 2014, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban boldly declared that “the new state we are constructing in Hungary is an illiberal state.” Coming only three months after Orban’s Fidesz party won a supermajority of seats in Parliament with only 45% of the...
by Nicole Wells | Mar 25, 2018 | American University
Just before the Hungarian national election in 2014, Prime Minister Victor Orban declared his intention to build an illiberal state in Hungary. Orban said the “Hungarian nation is not a simple sum of individuals, but a community that needs to be organized,...
by LEILA ANN ASHMAN | Mar 16, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles
The greatest threat to Western democracy is the veiled autocratic regime of Hungary. It has survived a decade of diminishing citizen and judiciary rights, and has still been able to gain international acknowledgement as a strong democracy, despit its wavering...
by CHRISTINE ELAINE WILEY | Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles
“Many observers both here and abroad fear Hungary will become the first EU member state to abandon liberal democracy, and nobody really knows what to do about it.” This quote from a Politico article summarizes the apprehension many feel in the face of Hungary’s rapid...
by LASINI THARINDI PIYADIGAMA | Mar 12, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles
Democratic backsliding is the process of democratic countries moving away from the fundamental ideas of democracy, like free and fair elections, strong rule of law and freedom of speech. This reversal of democracy is a phenomenon that many thought would not take place...