Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hardly ever relevant? An appraisal of nativist economics through the Hungarian case

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Acta Politica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Populist radical right parties place selective emphasis on immigration or minority issues, generally garnering support on the basis of their exclusionary agenda. However, populist radical right parties are not single-issue organisations and strenuously endeavour to come across as credible actors in different policy areas. It has been observed that, especially since the outbreak of the EU crisis, populist radical right parties have called new attention to socioeconomic issues. The article concentrates on one case in particular and tries to understand how these issues are framed by Jobbik – the populist radical right party of Hungary. Whilst the article ascertains a ‘social’ orientation in the ideology of the party, it also contributes to refine our understanding of the (inward and outward) secondary character of socioeconomic issues in the agenda of these parties.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1

Source: World Bank (2014)

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akkerman, T. and De Lange, S.L. (2012) Radical right parties in office: Incumbency records and the electoral cost of governing. Government and Opposition 47(4): 574–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakke, E. and Sitter, N. (2005) Patterns of stability party competition and strategy in Central Europe since 1989. Party Politics 11(2): 243–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, R., De Vries, C., Edwards, E., Hooghe, L., Jolly, S., Marks, G., et al (2012) Measuring party positions in Europe: The Chapel Hill expert survey trend file, 1999–2010. Party Politics 21(1): 143–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bale, T. (2003) Cinderella and her ugly sisters: The mainstream and extreme right in Europe’s bipolarising party systems. West European Politics 26(3): 67–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastow, S. (1997) Front national economic policy: From neo-liberalism to protectionism. Modern & Contemporary France 5(1): 61–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benoit, K. and Laver, M. (2006) Party Policy in Modern Democracies. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Betz, H.G. (1994) Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bíró Nagy, A., Boros, T. and Vasali, Z. (2013) More radical than the radicals: The Jobbik party in international comparison. In: R. Melzer and S. Serafin (eds.) Right-Wing Extremism in Europe. Country Analyses, Counter-Strategies and Labor-Market Oriented Exit Strategies. Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, pp. 229–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bíró Nagy, A. and Róna, D. (2011) Rational radicalism. Jobbik’s road to the Hungarian Parliament, 2003–2010. Paper presented at the workshop on the moderation and immoderation of religious political parties in democratic politics; 16–18 June. Eichstätt: University of Eichstätt.

  • Bobbio, N. (1994) Destra e Sinistra. Ragioni e Significati di una Distinzione Politica. Roma: Donzelli.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohle, D. and Greskovits, B. (2007) Neoliberalism, embedded neoliberalism and neocorporatism: Towards transnational capitalism in Central-Eastern Europe. West European Politics 30(3): 443–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozóki, A. (2008) Consolidation or second revolution? The emergence of the new right in Hungary. Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 24(2): 191–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozóki, A. and Simon, E. (2010) Hungary since 1989. In: S.P. Ramet (ed.) Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 204–232.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bustikova, L. and Kitschelt, H. (2009) The radical right in post-communist Europe. Comparative perspectives on legacies and party competition. Communist and Post-Communist Studies 42(4): 459–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casal Bértoa, F. (2014) Party systems and cleavage structures revisited: A sociological explanation of party system institutionalization in East Central Europe. Party Politics 20(1): 16–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Lange, S.L. (2007) A new winning formula? The programmatic appeal of the radical right. Party Politics 13(4): 411–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derks, A. (2006) Populism and the ambivalence of egalitarianism. How do the underprivileged reconcile a right wing party preference with their socio-economic attitudes? World Political Science Review 2(3): 175–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eatwell, R. (2003) Ten theories of the extreme right. In: P.H. Merkl and L. Weinberg (eds.) Right-Wing Extremism in the Twenty-First Century. London: Frank Cass, pp. 45–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enyedi, Z. and Benoit, K. (2011) kritikus választás 2010. A Magyar pártrendszer átrendezÅ‘dése a bal-jobb dimenzióban (in Hungarian). In: Z. Enyedi, R. Tardos and A. Szabo (eds.) Új Képlet: A 2010-es Választások Magyarországon. Budapest: DKMKA., pp. 17–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fennema, M. (1997) Some conceptual issues and problems in the comparison of anti-immigrant parties in Western Europe. Party Politics 3(4): 473–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fowler, B. (2004) Concentrated orange: Fidesz and the remaking of the Hungarian centre-right, 1994–2002. Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 20(3): 80–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gattinara, P.C., Froio, C. and Albanese, M. (2013) The appeal of neo-fascism in times of crisis: The experience of CasaPound Italia. Fascism – Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies 2(2): 234–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghodsee, K. (2008) Left wing, right wing, everything: Xenophobia, neo-totalitarianism and populist politics in contemporary Bulgaria. Problems of Post-Communism 55(3): 26–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gijsberts, M. and Nieuwbeerta, P. (2000) Class cleavages in party preferences in the new democracies in Eastern Europe: A comparison with Western democracies. European Societies 2(4): 397–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GrzymaÅ‚a-Busse, A. (2002) Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of Communist Parties in East Central Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Harmel, R. and SvÃ¥sand, L. (1997) The influence of new parties on old parties’ platforms: The cases of the progress parties and conservative parties of Denmark and Norway. Party Politics 3(3): 315–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ignazi, P. (1997) The extreme right in Europe: A survey. In: P.H. Merkl and L. Weinberg (eds.) The Revival of Right-Wing Extremism in the Nineties. London: Frank Cass, pp. 47–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivaldi, G. (2013) Successful welfare-chauvinism? The transformation of the front national’s economic programme (1984–2012). Paper presented at the 20th international conference of Europeanists, 25–27 June. The Netherlands: University of Amsterdam.

  • Jobbik. (2006) A Jobbik 2006-os Rövid Programja (in Hungarian). Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom party manifesto, http://www.jobbik.hu/rovatok/egyeb/a_jobbik_2006-os_rovid_programja, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Jobbik. (2009) Magyarország a magyaroké! A Jobbik Programja a Magyar Érdek Védelmében, a Nemzetek Európája Megteremtéséért (in Hungarian). Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom party manifesto, http://www.balatonalmadi.jobbik.hu/sites/default/files/users/Jobbik-program2009EP.pdf, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Jobbik. (2010a) Radical Change for National Self-Determination and Social Justice. A Guide to Jobbik’s Parliamentary Electoral Manifesto. Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom party manifesto, http://www.jobbik.com/sites/default/files/Jobbik-RADICALCHANGE2010.pdf, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Jobbik. (2010b) Radikális Változás. A Jobbik Országgyűlési Választási Programja a Nemzeti Önrendelkezésért és a Társadalmi Igazságosságért (in Hungarian). Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom party manifesto, http://www.jobbik.hu/sites/default/files/jobbik-program2010gy.pdf, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Jobbik. (2014a) Kimondjuk. Megoldjuk. Választási program 2014 (in Hungarian). Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom party manifesto, http://www.jobbik.hu/sites/default/files/cikkcsatolmany/kimondjukmegoldjuk2014_netre.pdf, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Jobbik. (2014b) Vona Gábor a Paksi Szavazásról (in Hungarian). Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom, http://www.jobbik.hu/hireink/vona-gabor-paksi-szavazasrol, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Jobbik. (2015) Gábor Vona: October thoughs. Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom, http://jobbik.com/gabor_vona_october_thoughts, accessed 9 March 2016.

  • Karácsony, G. and Róna, D. (2011) The secret of Jobbik: Reasons behind the rise of the Hungarian radical right. Journal of East European and Central Asian Studies 2(1): 61–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiss, C. (2002) From liberalism to conservatism: The Federation of young democrats in post-communist Hungary. East European Politics and Societies 16(3): 739–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitschelt, H. (1992) The formation of party systems in East Central Europe. Politics & Society 20(1): 7–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitschelt, H. (1995) Formation of party cleavages in post-communist democracies: Theoretical propositions. Party Politics 1(4): 447–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitschelt, H. (2004) Diversification and reconfiguration of party systems in post-industrial democracies. Europäische Politik (03/2004). Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/02608.pdf, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Kitschelt, H. and McGann, A.J. (1995) The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krastev, I. (2007) The strange death of the liberal consensus. Journal of Democracy 18(4): 56–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linz, J.J. and Stepan, A. (1996) Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: South America, Southern Europe, and Post-Communist Europe. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markowski, R. (2002) Disillusionment with democracy and populism in Poland. In: E.B. Haas (ed.) Europe and the Crisis of Democracy: Elections in Europe: 1999–2002. Paris: Notre Europe, pp. 28–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marks, G., Hooghe, L., Nelson, M. and Edwards, E. (2006) Party competition and European integration in the East and West: Different structure, same causality. Comparative Political Studies 39(2): 155–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meguid, B.M. (2005) Competition between unequals: The role of mainstream party strategy in niche party success. American Political Science Review 99(3): 347–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W., White, S. and Heywood, P. (1998) Values and Political Change in Postcommunist Europe. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Minkenberg, M. (2000) The renewal of the radical right: Between modernity and anti-modernity. Government and Opposition 35(2): 170–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minkenberg, M. (2001) The radical right in public office: Agenda-setting and policy effects. West European Politics 24(4): 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minkenberg, M. (2013) From pariah to policy-maker? The radical right in Europe, West and East: Between margin and mainstream. Journal of Contemporary European Studies 21(1): 5–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minkenberg, M. (ed.) (2015) Transforming the Transformation? The East European Radical Right in the Political Process. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morlang, D. (2003) Hungary: Socialists building capitalism. In: J. Leftwich Curry and J. Barth Urban (eds.) The Left Transformed in Post-Communist Societies. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 61–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, C. (1999) The single-issue party thesis: Extreme right parties and the immigration issue. West European Politics 22(3): 182–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, C. (2000) The Ideology of the Extreme Right. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, C. (2007) Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center. (2009) Two Decades after the Wall’s Fall. Washington, DC: Pew Global Attitudes Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pirro, A.L.P. (2014a) Populist radical right parties in Central and Eastern Europe: The different context and issues of the prophets of the patria. Government and Opposition 49(4): 599–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pirro, A.L.P. (2014b) Digging into the breeding ground: Insights into the electoral performance of populist radical right parties in Central and Eastern Europe. East European Politics 30(2): 246–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pirro, A.L.P. (2015) The populist radical right in the political process: Assessing party impact in Central and Eastern Europe. In: M. Minkenberg (ed.) Transforming the Transformation? The East European Radical Right in the Political Process. London: Routledge, pp. 80–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Political Capital. (2015) Jobbik’s policy proposals realized by Fidesz: A summary in 10 points, http://www.riskandforecast.com/post/flash-report/jobbik-s-policy-proposals-realized-by-fidesz-a-summary-in-10-points_818.html, accessed 8 March 2016.

  • Pop-Eleches, G. (2010) Throwing out the bums: Protest voting and unorthodox parties after communism. World Politics 6(2): 221–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pytlas, B. and Kossack, O. (2015) Lighting the fuse: The impact of radical right parties on party competition in Central and Eastern Europe. In: M. Minkenberg (ed.) Transforming the Transformation? The East European Radical Right in the Political Process. London: Routledge, pp. 105–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rohrschneider, R. and Whitefield, S. (2009) Understanding cleavages in party systems issue position and issue salience in 13 post-communist democracies. Comparative Political Studies 42(2): 280–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rovny, J. (2013) Where do radical right parties stand? Position blurring in multidimensional competition. European Political Science Review 5(1): 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rovny, J. (2014) Communism, federalism, and ethnic minorities: Explaining party competition patterns in Eastern Europe. World Politics 66(4): 669–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rovny, J. and Edwards, E.E. (2012) Struggle over dimensionality: Party competition in Western and Eastern Europe. East European Politics and Societies 26(1): 56–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sartori, G. (1966) Opposition and control problems and prospects. Government and Opposition 1(2): 149–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schain, M. (2006) The extreme-right and immigration policymaking: Measuring direct and indirect effects. West European Politics 29(2): 270–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schain, M., Zolberg, A. and Hossay, P. (eds.) (2002) Shadows over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Western Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumacher, G. and Van Kersbergen, K. (2014) Do mainstream parties adapt to the welfare chauvinism of populist parties? Party Politics 22: 300–312. doi:10.1177/1354068814549345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tavits, M. and Letki, N. (2009) When left is right: Party ideology and policy in post-communist Europe. American Political Science Review 103(4): 555–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uitz, R. (2008) Hungary. In: G. Mesežnikov, O. Gyárfášová and D. Smilov (eds.) Populist Politics and Liberal Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. Bratislava: Institute for Public Affairs, pp. 37–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Spanje, J. (2010) Contagious parties: Anti-immigration parties and their impact on other parties’ immigration stances in contemporary Western Europe. Party Politics 16(5): 563–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Várnagy, R. (2010) Hungary. European Journal of Political Research 49(7-8): 1001–1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Várnagy, R. (2011) Hungary. European Journal of Political Research 50(7-8): 991–998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Volkens, A., Lehmann, P., Merz, N., Regel, S., Werner, A., Lacewell, O.P., et al (2014) The Manifesto Data Collection. Manifesto Project (MRG/CMP/MARPOR). Version 2014a. Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB).

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Beyme, K. (1996) Transition to Democracy in Eastern Europe. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M.H. (2006) The Impact of Radical Right-Wing Parties in West European Democracies. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2014) Hungary, GDP growth. The World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG/countries/HU?display=graph, accessed 19 September 2015.

  • Zaslove, A. (2008) Exclusion, community, and a populist political economy: The radical right as an anti-globalization movement. Comparative European Politics 6(2): 169–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Earlier drafts of this article were presented at the 8th European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conference, 3–6 September 2014, Glasgow, and the XXVIII Meeting of the Italian Political Science Association (SISP), 11–13 September 2014, Perugia. I want to thank Pietro Castelli Gattinara, Igor Guardiancich, and Elena Pavan for the valuable exchanges, as well as the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and perceptive comments in the process of revision of this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, 50123, Florence, Italy

    Andrea L. P. Pirro

Authors
  1. Andrea L. P. Pirro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea L. P. Pirro.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pirro, A.L.P. Hardly ever relevant? An appraisal of nativist economics through the Hungarian case. Acta Polit 52, 339–360 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-016-0032-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-016-0032-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation