Demokratins väktare
(2025) STVK04 20242Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- In contemporary times, there is an increasing trend of democratic backsliding, with illiberal actors seeking to infiltrate democracies and dismantle their principles to establish an illiberal order. Within the EU, Hungary under Viktor Orbán and Fidesz has exemplified this trend, challenging not only Hungarian democracy but also the Union's democratic values. As the EU is founded on democratic principles enshrined in several treaties, it is crucial for the Union to counter the rise of illiberal forces originating from Orbán’s regime. While previous research has focused on the actions of the European Commission, the European Court of Justice and the European Council in addressing Hungary’s democratic backsliding, less attention has been... (More)
- In contemporary times, there is an increasing trend of democratic backsliding, with illiberal actors seeking to infiltrate democracies and dismantle their principles to establish an illiberal order. Within the EU, Hungary under Viktor Orbán and Fidesz has exemplified this trend, challenging not only Hungarian democracy but also the Union's democratic values. As the EU is founded on democratic principles enshrined in several treaties, it is crucial for the Union to counter the rise of illiberal forces originating from Orbán’s regime. While previous research has focused on the actions of the European Commission, the European Court of Justice and the European Council in addressing Hungary’s democratic backsliding, less attention has been given to the role of the European Parliament. This thesis therefore aims to investigate the European Parliament’s response to the democratic decline in Hungary and the impact of Fidesz within the parliament, focusing on four EU party groups: GUE/NGL, EGP, S&D, and EPP. Specifically, the study examines the strategies these party groups employed to address both the democratic decline in Hungary and Fidesz’s influence in the European Parliament. The study applies Giovanni Capoccia’s (2005) model of party and party system responses to illiberal actors - repression, isolation and accommodation - to analyze the strategies implemented by these party groups. Additionally, it utilizes the methodological approach, motive analysis, to explore the underlying motives behind the implementation of the strategies. The findings reveal that all four party groups adopted Capoccia’s repression and isolation strategies, but none embraced accommodation. The party groups were active in pursuing the Article 7(1) TEU procedure, reducing Fidesz’s influence in the European Parliament, and pressuring the European Commission and European Council to initiate legal proceedings against Orbán’s regime. The underlying motive behind the employment of these strategies was to defend the EU’s democratic principles and values. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9179301
- author
- Roeck Hansen, Amanda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- STVK04 20242
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- demokratisk tillbakagång, Europaparlamentet, Giovanni Capoccias modell, The Left, The Green Group, European People’s Party, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9179301
- date added to LUP
- 2025-03-04 12:56:30
- date last changed
- 2025-03-04 12:56:30
@misc{9179301,
abstract = {{In contemporary times, there is an increasing trend of democratic backsliding, with illiberal actors seeking to infiltrate democracies and dismantle their principles to establish an illiberal order. Within the EU, Hungary under Viktor Orbán and Fidesz has exemplified this trend, challenging not only Hungarian democracy but also the Union's democratic values. As the EU is founded on democratic principles enshrined in several treaties, it is crucial for the Union to counter the rise of illiberal forces originating from Orbán’s regime. While previous research has focused on the actions of the European Commission, the European Court of Justice and the European Council in addressing Hungary’s democratic backsliding, less attention has been given to the role of the European Parliament. This thesis therefore aims to investigate the European Parliament’s response to the democratic decline in Hungary and the impact of Fidesz within the parliament, focusing on four EU party groups: GUE/NGL, EGP, S&D, and EPP. Specifically, the study examines the strategies these party groups employed to address both the democratic decline in Hungary and Fidesz’s influence in the European Parliament. The study applies Giovanni Capoccia’s (2005) model of party and party system responses to illiberal actors - repression, isolation and accommodation - to analyze the strategies implemented by these party groups. Additionally, it utilizes the methodological approach, motive analysis, to explore the underlying motives behind the implementation of the strategies. The findings reveal that all four party groups adopted Capoccia’s repression and isolation strategies, but none embraced accommodation. The party groups were active in pursuing the Article 7(1) TEU procedure, reducing Fidesz’s influence in the European Parliament, and pressuring the European Commission and European Council to initiate legal proceedings against Orbán’s regime. The underlying motive behind the employment of these strategies was to defend the EU’s democratic principles and values.}},
author = {{Roeck Hansen, Amanda}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Demokratins väktare}},
year = {{2025}},
}