An Illiberal Love Affair: An Analysis of Viktor Orbán’s Ideational Shift: From Liberal Democracy to Illiberalism and Authoritarian Alignment with Russia (2010-2022)
(2025) STVK04 20251Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- This thesis investigates the ideological collaboration between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian president Vladimir Putin in relation to democratic backsliding in Hungary between 2010 and 2022. Drawing on theories of democratic backsliding, autocracy promotion, and authoritarian collaboration, the study analyses and discusses a selection of speeches and press conferences to identify ideological shifts and patterns of mutual reinforcement between the two leaders. Using a qualitative idea and ideology analysis, the study finds that Orbán’s rhetoric gradually evolved from subtle critiques of liberal democracy to overt support for illiberal and authoritarian governance. Simultaneously, Hungary’s relationship with Russia... (More)
- This thesis investigates the ideological collaboration between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian president Vladimir Putin in relation to democratic backsliding in Hungary between 2010 and 2022. Drawing on theories of democratic backsliding, autocracy promotion, and authoritarian collaboration, the study analyses and discusses a selection of speeches and press conferences to identify ideological shifts and patterns of mutual reinforcement between the two leaders. Using a qualitative idea and ideology analysis, the study finds that Orbán’s rhetoric gradually evolved from subtle critiques of liberal democracy to overt support for illiberal and authoritarian governance. Simultaneously, Hungary’s relationship with Russia deepened across economic, cultural and ideological domains. The thesis argues that this collaboration is not incidental but part of a broader authoritarian logic in which both actors gain legitimacy and strategic advantages. The findings contribute to understanding how smaller states like Hungary can play an active role in promoting illiberalism and challenge the resilience of democratic norms within the European Union. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9189774
- author
- Räsänen, Minna LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- STVK04 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Democratic backsliding, autocracy promotion, authoritarian collaboration, Hungary, Viktor Orbán, Russia, idea and ideology analysis
- language
- English
- id
- 9189774
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-08 11:09:13
- date last changed
- 2025-08-08 11:09:13
@misc{9189774,
abstract = {{This thesis investigates the ideological collaboration between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian president Vladimir Putin in relation to democratic backsliding in Hungary between 2010 and 2022. Drawing on theories of democratic backsliding, autocracy promotion, and authoritarian collaboration, the study analyses and discusses a selection of speeches and press conferences to identify ideological shifts and patterns of mutual reinforcement between the two leaders. Using a qualitative idea and ideology analysis, the study finds that Orbán’s rhetoric gradually evolved from subtle critiques of liberal democracy to overt support for illiberal and authoritarian governance. Simultaneously, Hungary’s relationship with Russia deepened across economic, cultural and ideological domains. The thesis argues that this collaboration is not incidental but part of a broader authoritarian logic in which both actors gain legitimacy and strategic advantages. The findings contribute to understanding how smaller states like Hungary can play an active role in promoting illiberalism and challenge the resilience of democratic norms within the European Union.}},
author = {{Räsänen, Minna}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{An Illiberal Love Affair: An Analysis of Viktor Orbán’s Ideational Shift: From Liberal Democracy to Illiberalism and Authoritarian Alignment with Russia (2010-2022)}},
year = {{2025}},
}