Orbánizacja
Orbanization

Authoritarianism, Imagology and the New Hungary

Summary/Abstract: In this article, the author examines the political, social and cultural consequences of Victor Orban and the Fidesz party coming to power in Hungary. The consequences of these politics is expressed in the neologism “orbanization”. Hungarian politics have been instrumentalised, and power has assumed authoritarian characteristics. This has led to the formation and implementation of a new cultural policy. Veiled authoritarianism has led to the weakening or elimination of the importance of institutions that were thus far independent of the government, such as the central bank, the judiciary and the media. A symbol of Orbán’s politics is the adoption of a new constitution. The Hungarian nation is defined in the text in historical (Saint Stefan as the mythical founder of the community), religious (the preamble begins with the invocation, “God bless the Hungarians”) and ethnic (ethnos as exclusive) terms. In this way, a very tight and homogeneous picture is formed of the subject of the Constitution, which lends legitimacy to what in literature is referred to as an “organic” or “mystical” nation. Worthy of concern is not only the strengthening of the power of Orban, but also his strong support of right-wing political groups, including those in Poland.

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