Hungary used to be the success story of East-Central Europe in terms of democratic transition, however the nature of the recent reforms now points towards a different path. Viktor Orbán has managed...Show moreHungary used to be the success story of East-Central Europe in terms of democratic transition, however the nature of the recent reforms now points towards a different path. Viktor Orbán has managed to consolidate his power by undermining democratic institutions for his own advantage. Since 2010, the Hungarian political system has gone through an extensive transformation initiated and carried out by the governing party; Fidesz. The right-central political party is led by the charismatic leader Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has built a highly-centralized party where his authority is unquestioned. Fidesz is in governing position since 2010, when they managed to win the elections by supermajority and retain that position respectively in 2014 and 2018 as well. The initial overwhelming victory, which enabled the transformation of the political system, can be traced back to the distrust and disappointment of the people with the socialist party and with the torn economy. Orbán consciously exploited the political vacuum and saw his chance to take power once more. He portrayed himself as the only salvation for the nation after the socialists’ ‘liberal’ mismanagement. Once he came to power, he started the ‘System of National Cooperation’ which was the frame for the (illiberal) transformation of the society. Exploiting his supermajority, he started structural reforms which laid the grounds for passing the ‘The Fundamental Law’. The new constitutional order systematically erodes checks and balances, undermines the independent institutions, gerrymanders electoral laws, attacks civil society and the media. Arguably, the Fundamental Law serves to purpose of entrenching the power of Fidesz. Considering these developments over the past decade, one could raise the question how to conceptualize the current Hungarian political system? Does it still qualify as a liberal democracy, or should it be categorized as an autocracy, or perhaps a regime “in-between”? This essay seeks to explore the possible answers to this question.Show less