Hungary’s prime minister has been jet-setting across the globe to hobnob with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Donald Trump, while doing his best to provoke European leaders at home. But Orbán’s grandstanding, argues Hungarian writer Sándor Ésik in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, is really just an attempt to mask his growing political weaknesses at home. The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, chart Orbán’s remarkable rise — and why the tide may finally be turning.
The Viktor Orbán Show
Don’t let the Hungarian prime minister’s globe-trotting and grandstanding fool you. Behind the posturing and attempts to steal the spotlight is a strongman who feels his position slipping.
Sándor ÉsikInside Orbán’s Plan to Occupy Europe
The Hungarian prime minister is on a mission to overrun Brussels, disrupt the EU, and consolidate his power at home. It just might work.
Kim Lane ScheppeleViktor Orbán’s Newest Tool for Crushing Dissent
He has created a new office with massive investigatory powers that are vaguely defined and leave everyone on edge. In other words, it’s classic Orbán.
Sándor ÉsikHow Viktor Orbán Wins
The case of Hungary shows how autocrats can rig elections legally, using legislative majorities to change the law and neutralize the opposition at every turn, no matter what strategy they adopt.
Kim Lane ScheppeleWhat Went Wrong in Hungary
For a time, Hungary looked like it was on the road to democracy. Viktor Orbán’s success derailing it may teach us how to spot a failing democracy before it is too late.
Veronica Anghel and Erik JonesOrbán’s Laboratory of Illiberalism
Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has used its two-thirds majority in parliament to change the constitution, erase checks and balances, and make the electoral system even more majoritarian.
Péter Krekó and Zsolt EnyediHungary’s U-Turn: Retreating from Democracy
The great achievements of Hungary’s 1989–90 transition — including democracy, rule of law, market-oriented reform, and pluralism in intellectual life — are being dismantled as the world looks the other way.
János KornaiHungary’s Illiberal Turn: Disabling the Constitution
In Hungary’s 2010 general elections, Fidesz won 68 percent of the seats in parliament — allowing it to impose a wholly new constitutional order.
Miklós Bánkuti, Gábor Halmai, and Kim Lane Scheppele
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