The Transformation of the Hungarian Party System. From Democratic Chaos to Electoral Autocracy
The Transformation of the Hungarian Party System. From Democratic Chaos to Electoral Autocracy

Summary/Abstract: This article describes the developments of the Hungarian party system in two radically different periods, the “democratic chaos” when there was a democratic yet weak government, and the subsequent “electoral autocracy” which saw a semi-authoritarian government. The first party system, between 1987 and 2010, was indeed both democratic and dynamic but because the state was unable to come to grips with the huge complexity of the systemic transformation it was fragile and chaotic too. But as a result of their great dissatisfaction, Hungarians were not ready to defend democracy against the attack of populist forces, so that by 2010 the second party system emerged based on a special version of authoritarianism. It was an electoral autocracy in which the ruling party comes to power through electoral manipulations, and supreme power is concentrated in the hands of very few individuals.

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