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Democratic decline and the rise of illiberal citizenship in Hungary

Pogonyi, Szabolcs
Title / Series / Name
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Author
Pogonyi, Szabolcs
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Keywords
Hungary
Illiberal citizenship
democratic decline
Demography
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
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Pogonyi-Szabolcs_2026.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/28859
Abstract
The paper explores the paradoxical implications of democratisation on citizenship policy trajectories through the analysis of Hungarian citizenship legislation since 1989. The main objective of the paper is to analyse the complex nexus of citizenship policy reforms and democratisation. Most importantly, the paper will show that ethnocentrist expansive citizenship introduced in 2010 exacerbates Hungary’s democratic breakdown. First, the votes from the newly naturalised voters abroad help Fidesz in Parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections as well as in national referendums. Second, the naturalisation of more than 1.1 million ethnic Hungarians also helps FideszFidesz's anti-immigrant agenda by making more salient its nativist claims advocating national homogeneity and the ‘biological reproduction’ of the nation defined in ethnocultural terms.
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Type
Journal article
Date
2026-03-04
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ISBN
Identifiers
10.1080/1369183X.2026.2631896
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Philosophy