Euroscepticism in Hungary: perspectives, current state and features

Abstract

The exit of the UK from the European Union, as well as the constant conflicts of Poland
and Hungary with European officials, cast doubt on the existence of the EU and provoke fears about
its future. The case of Hungary attracts particular attention. Official Budapest has publicly renounced
democratic values. In response, Brussels threatened to withhold payments from the EU budget, and in
September 2022, the European Parliament declared Hungary an electoral autocracy. All these events raise
the following questions. Why did Hungary, long striving for a democratic system, abandon it? What is the
attitude of the population of Hungary towards the EU and whose side does it support in conflicts with
Brussels? Can Hungary leave the European Union? The authors believe that the conflict between Budapest
and Brussels is explained by different values, but it will not lead to Hungary’s exit from the EU, since
both sides of the conflict support the idea of a united Europe, but put different values into this idea. The
main theory on which this explanation is based is constructivism. Hungary’s political system is described by some experts as an “illiberal democracy” or “electoral autocracy”. For example, we can remember the
collective work of experts from the American “think tank” Brookings “The Anatomy Of Illiberal States:
Assessing And Responding To Democratic Decline In Turkey And Central Europe”. However, the problem
of these works lies in ignoring the socio-economic factors, which, according to the authors of the article,
played an important role in the disillusionment with the democracy of the Hungarian people.