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Young People Did Not Decide Yesterday: How a Generation Came of Age in Crisis

On April 12, Hungary voted, and since then young people, many of whom were voting for the first time, have been blamed. Based on earlier turnout rates, young people had not seemed interested in politics, yet this time a significant wave of mobilization took place. I found two possible reasons that may explain this shift, and in this article I examine the social, economic, and other conditions that produced this remarkable level of participation, as well as what shaped young people’s new political consciousness.

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The “Cserdi Model”

In Central and Eastern Europe, the question of social inclusion has remained a recurring policy challenge for decades. In communities facing structural disadvantage, interventions are often built around external programmes, financial support, and institutional solutions. Less often do initiatives emerge that seek to produce lasting change at the local level by relying on internal resources and community-based agency.

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Hungary – Justice or Promise?

Post-transition compensation was not merely an economic issue, but also a test of trust, self-determination, and the promise of historical redress. In Hungary, however, the gap between legal settlement and the social sense of justice quickly gave way to disillusionment.

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Forced Adaptation and Inherited Silence

The Socio-Psychological Legacy of Collectivization in Hungary (1961–1990). The end of collectivization did not bring genuine resolution: the loss of land, forced adaptation, and unspoken fears left behind a mental legacy that remains visible today through family patterns and broader forms of social behaviour.

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The Shadow Foreign Ministry

Power, Patronage and Hidden Wealth Behind Hungary’s Diplomacy
The classical diplomatic function of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has undergone a visible transformation in recent years. On the surface, the traditional elements of foreign policy still remain visible: ministerial flights to important and less important destinations around the world, the repeated announcement of new economic successes, the consular protection of supporters in stadiums and on trains, and the building of a peculiar foreign policy network referred to as “connectivity.”

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Whoever Dares to Threaten Viktor Orban Is Picking a Fight with Peter Magyar

This is the impression I drew from Peter Magyar’s speeches delivered in Szarvas and Bekescsaba.
It is important, however, to clarify a fundamental misunderstanding. Zelensky’s controversial statement in question was not directed at Hungarian society as a whole, as Peter Magyar interpreted it, but referred exclusively to Viktor Orban. If the political practice of presenting criticism directed at one individual as an attack on the entire nation sounds familiar, that is hardly accidental. This communication method has long been present in Hungarian political discourse, particularly when the prime minister or the government faces criticism.

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When Public Holidays Become Political Battlegrounds

How polarisation, permanent campaign rhetoric, and the logic of political warfare have transformed Hungary’s shared civic rituals.
Several holidays are approaching. March 15 marks Hungary’s national holiday, followed by Easter at the beginning of April, and, a week later, parliamentary elections. According to the governing party, Fidesz, the latter is also a “celebration of democracy.” A holiday is, by definition, a special day. It is a moment when we remember something important to an individual, a community, or a nation, or when we commemorate a person who played a significant role in the life of that community or achieved something meaningful.

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