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Chapter 6: Constitutional Identity? The Hungarian Model of Illiberal Democracy

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A Quarter Century of Post-Communism Assessed

Abstract

By connecting to ongoing scholarly discussions on conceptualizing “illiberal democracy” and analyzing the phenomenon of the anti-democratic backlash in post-2010 Hungary, this chapter seeks to provide a description and an analysis of the “Hungarian model of illiberal democracy.” It is argued that the “Hungarian illiberal democracy” is not a construct of constitutional philosophy; nor is it a principle for constitutional design or something characteristically illiberal within the interpretative framework of political theory. Rather, it is a tool to channel, define, and dominate general political discourse and provide a discursive framework for political identification and ideologically biased (yet divergent and ad hoc) legislation. The morphosis of this Hungarian model of illiberal democracy manifests itself normatively through value preferences expressed in the new constitution as well as in a quasi-normative political declaration that serves as a manifesto for the new political community it envisages.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It needs to be noted that due to criticism by international organizations such as the EU, the Council of Europe, or judicial organs, like the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) or the European Court of Justice, some of these legislation has been amended. For example in April 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that the abrupt termination of the data protection commissioner’s term in 2011 infringed on the authority’s independence, and that the church law violated the European Convention of Human Rights. The ECHR also declared that the early removal of the former Supreme Court president in 2012 violated his rights, and also condemned Hungary for violating the freedom of expression because opposition party MP’s were sanctioned. Likewise, the 98 % retroactive tax was found to be contrary to the Convention.

  2. 2.

    Retroactivity refers to the fact that the idea of creating a new political community (or even the adoption of a new constitution) was not part of the political campaign in the elections, and, needless to say, the principles of this new regimes were not up to political deliberation either.

  3. 3.

    The Declaration, adopted shortly after the new government took office, was ordered to be displayed in all government facilities in Hungary. The president, the speaker of the parliament, the presidents of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, the Central Bank, mayors, the ombudspersons, chief prosecutors and judges were requested in the form of a Government Resolution to follow suit. Most state institutions, such as hospitals or universities, also complied.

  4. 4.

    This is not to argue that liberalism is necessarily multicultural, or that any form of collectivistic constitutionalism would be inherently liberal, only that these would be the most characteristic and typical commitments by Hungarian liberal public intellectuals (who, in the absence of a visible liberal party, can be identified as relevant “liberal” voices.)

  5. 5.

    According to the concept of ethno-symbolism, nations are based on ethnic groups, where cultural cohesion is built on myths and symbols. Anthony D. Smith (1996, 1999, 2009) explains how myths are highly significant factors in nation building. Also consider John Armstrong (1982) arguing that “A most significant effect of the myth recital is to arouse an intense awareness among the group members of their ‘common fate’ ” (p. 9).

  6. 6.

    For the concept, see Comaroff and Comaroff (2009).

  7. 7.

    For scholarly assessments on the role of discursive action in the process of identity formation see Fox and Miller-Idriss (2008) and Wodak (2009).

  8. 8.

    For the original theory, see Austin (1962).

  9. 9.

    Balzacq (2010) argues that three different aspects should be considered when analyzing perlocutionary speech acts: (i) the centrality of the audience; (ii) the co-dependency of agency and context; (iii) the dispositive and structuring force of practices.

  10. 10.

    For more on this see Vidra et al. (2012).

  11. 11.

    According to the 2014 World economic forum Global Gender Gap Report Hungary is placed 128 out of 143 in the field of political empowerment, with a 93rd overall gender-gap rank.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for the Study of Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Social Sciences at the Institute for Legal Studies, Budapest, Hungary

    András L. Pap

  2. Slovak Academy of Sciences Institute for Sociology, Bratislava, Slovakia

    András L. Pap

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  1. András L. Pap
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    M. Steven Fish

  2. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Graeme Gill

  3. University of Canterbury , Christchurch, New Zealand

    Milenko Petrovic

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Pap, A.L. (2017). Chapter 6: Constitutional Identity? The Hungarian Model of Illiberal Democracy. In: Fish, M., Gill, G., Petrovic, M. (eds) A Quarter Century of Post-Communism Assessed. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43437-7_7

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