Since his election in 2010, President Viktor Orbán of Hungary has been wreaking havoc on liberal democratic institutions and channels of political and everyday freedoms. Orbán has changed the rules of the game. Among his major assaults on democracy have been changing the original constitution to override constitutional-court decisions, introducing a new constitution, and implementing […]
Tag: Viktor Orbán
Feeding the Moths Eating at Europe’s Fabric
For those following European Politics, news of democratic backsliding is not new. Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party has ruled Hungary with an absolute majority in parliament since 2010. Since his absolute majority win, Orban has diligently worked to consolidate his power. In 2013, the Hungarian parliament approved controversial amendments to the country’s constitution. The reforms included […]
Poland’s Illiberal Trajectory Continues to Challenge the European Union
Every year in Poland, Narodowe Święto Niepodległości, or the Polish Independence Day, is celebrated in Warsaw, commemorating the anniversary of the restoration of a sovereign Poland after over a century of invasion and domination by the German, Russian and Austrian empires. In 2017, however, the tone of the festivities soured, making international headlines as it […]
Defective Democracies
With a friendly slap in the face and shake of the hand, the president of the European Commission addressed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as “dictator” during his visit to Latvia in 2015. This name-calling was most likely in response to Orban’s recent appeals for an illiberal democracy, professing his plan to separate Hungary from “Western European […]
The Myths of Far-Right Populism: Orbán’s Fence and Trump’s Wall
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has been characterized as one of the many ‘Strong Man’, right-wing populist politicians who has recently gained power (sound familiar?). While hindsight is twenty-twenty, there is a lot to be learned from modern economic history in light of the recent rise of far-right populist groups across the globe. The rise of populism […]