Leadership in International Populism: How Viktor Orbán´s Hungary Shows the Way
Leadership in International Populism: How Viktor Orbán´s Hungary Shows the Way

Summary/Abstract: Although a burgeoning literature explores the international dimensions of populism, we still know little about how populist leaders gain international popularity. This paper describes how Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, has emerged as the role model of international right-wing ´ populism. It demonstrates that Orban actively supplied himself as an example that like-minded ´ politicians should follow. We draw on the concept of legitimation strategies to illustrate why Orban´ markets himself as the leader of an international movement against liberal ideologues (Wajner, 2022). At the same time, populists in many countries have searched abroad for a successful model to follow. Orban´ ’s anti-migration policies and his defense of conservative family values constitute chapters of an illiberal playbook that right-wing populists are eager to implement. We use the concept of authoritarian learning to develop this demand-side perspective (Hall and Ambrosio, 2017). Empirically, we demonstrate our argument through an analysis of speeches delivered at a leading gathering of right-wing populists and moral conservatives: the Hungarian editions of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that took place in Budapest in 2022 and 2023.

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