The Second Term of Viktor Orban: Beyond Prejudice and Enthusiasm

This book is an attempt to deliver a first draft of history on Orbán and Orbánism. The great majority of its essays are concerned with the realities of Hungarian politics in the 26 years since 1989. These include the rise of Viktor Orbán, the political experiences that shaped him and the Fidesz movement in which he was the dominant founder, their movement from a left-liberal ideology to a national-conservative one, above all the record of Orbán's second term in government, 2010 to 2014, and, finally, some predictions about the course of his third term of office. All of the topics covered are highly controversial in Hungarian public life, not always on a conventional left-right axis. Our purpose is to produce a modestly comprehensive analysis of the man and his ideas in terms both of topics and standpoints. We have therefore invited a large variety of contributors, some who admire Orban and some who oppose him, some who deal with domestic Orbanism and some with its foreign policy implications, some who believe him to be a conservative of some kind and some who take his assertion of "plebeian" values to be a better guide to his policies.