Antiliberalism and Counter-Enlightenment for the 21st Century: Viktor Orbán's Illiberal Political Ideology

Abstract

This article analyses the political speeches of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb & aacute;n between 2014 and 2023 by applying the 'ideational approach'. Questioning the description of Orb & aacute;n as a politician whose career represents nothing but opportunism and kleptocracy, the article argues that his politics are driven and underpinned by an illiberal political ideology. Examining how Orb & aacute;n conceptualizes illiberalism in the realms of (1) Hungarian domestic politics; (2) foreign and global politics; and (3) cultural politics (understood in the Gramscian sense as a battle for fundamental values), this article offers a systematic analysis of Hungarian illiberalism and of the interrelations of its main ideological components. The article also examines how and why Orb & aacute;n portrays himself not only as the authentic voice of the Hungarian people, but also simultaneously as the genuine representative of original Europeanness.