THE SECRET OF JOBBIK. THE DETERMINANTS OF THE RISE OF THE HUNGARIAN EXTREME RIGHT Cover Image

A JOBBIK TITKA A szélsőjobb magyarországi megerősödésének lehetséges okairól
THE SECRET OF JOBBIK. THE DETERMINANTS OF THE RISE OF THE HUNGARIAN EXTREME RIGHT

Author(s): Dániel Róna, Gergely Karácsony
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: MTA Politikai Tudományi Intézete

Summary/Abstract: The success of Jobbik was perhaps the most remarkable result of the recent European Parliamentary Elections in Hungary. We strive to understand why people cast their ballot to the radical right. Our hypotheses are based on the international literature and the assumptions of public discourse. The empirical analysis consists of two parts. First we carry out a panel data analysis in which we chart the social background and motivation of the Jobbik-voters. We conclude that social frustration has only marginal, whereas anti-establishment attitude, nationalism and anti-Roma attitudes have much more significant impact on preference for Jobbik. In the second part of our analysis we try to answer to the fundamental question: Why did the breakthrough of Jobbik happen now when anti-Gypsy attitudes have existed for many decades? Using content-analysis data we demonstrate that the Gypsy problem strongly determined the political agenda which was a very favourable phenomenon for Jobbik. Although the party and its politicians had only very limited coverage, due to the ownership of issues the media also contributed to the success of the Jobbik by highlighting the issues related to Gypsies.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 31-63
  • Page Count: 33
  • Language: Hungarian