logo

News

2021-03-22

New publication - Orbán’s political jackpot: migration and the Hungarian electorate

Article by András Bíró-Nagy, Director of Policy Solutions has been published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
New publication - Orbán’s political jackpot: migration and the Hungarian electorate

András Bíró-Nagy has published an article entitled “Orbán’s political jackpot: migration and the Hungarian electorate” in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

 

Abstract

PM Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary is often seen as one of the paradigmatic cases of illiberalism and an intense contestation of immigration. This paper argues that the Hungarian government’s strong focus on immigration and its hardline positions on the issue proved to be a political jackpot for the governing party. Besides presenting the claims and frames Fidesz has used regarding migration since 2015, three analytical aspects are covered in this article, based on Eurobarometer, European Social Survey and Hungarian domestic polling data. First, the trends in the perception of the importance of migration for the Hungarian voters are compared to the European public opinion. Second, the changes in the attitudes of Hungarians to immigration are also analysed in European comparison. Third, I also present what role the fears related to immigration played at the 2018 parliamentary elections. On the whole, the Hungarian centre-right successfully politicised the issue of migration, and acted as an agenda-setter rather than a follower. It was able to sustain a sense of crisis between 2015 and 2018; it exacerbated the rejection of immigration in society; and it was successful in entrenching migration as one of the top fears among its potential voters.

András Bíró-Nagy (2021): „Orbán’s political jackpot: migration and the Hungarian electorate”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Taylor and Francis, https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1853905

The article can be downloaded from this link.

 



Back

About Us

Policy Solutions is a progressive political research institute based in Budapest. It was founded in 2008 and it is committed to the values of liberal democracy, solidarity, equal opportunity, sustainability and European integration. The focus of Policy Solutions’ work is on understanding political processes in Hungary and the European Union. Among the pre-eminent areas of our research are the investigation of how the quality of democracy evolves, the analysis of factors driving euroscepticism, populism and the far-right, and election research. 

More

Facebook

Follow us on Facebook!

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter!