From neoliberal disembedding to authoritarian re-embedding: The making of illiberal hegemony in Hungary. (November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Scheiring, Gábor; Szombati, Kristóf
• Is Part Of: International sociology. Volume 35:Number 6(2020:Nov.)
• Page Start: 721
• Page End: 738
• Publication Date: 2020-11
• Subjects: Authoritarian populism -- authoritarian re-embedding -- countermovement -- Hungary -- illiberalism; Contre-mouvement -- Hongrie -- illibéralisme -- populisme autoritaire -- ré-encastrement autoritaire; Contramovimiento -- Hungría -- iliberalismo -- populismo autoritario -- re-integración autoritaria; Sociology -- Periodicals; Social history -- Periodicals; Social change -- Periodicals; Globalization -- Periodicals; 303.482
• DOI: 10.1177/0268580920930591
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0268-5809

Abstract

This article presents and empirically substantiates a theoretical account explaining the making and stabilisation of illiberal hegemony in Hungary. It combines a Polanyian institutionalist framework with a neo-Gramscian analysis of right-wing hegemonic strategy and a relational class analysis inspired by the political economy tradition in anthropology. The article identifies the social actors behind the illiberal transformation, showing how 'neoliberal disembedding' fuelled the rightward shift of constituencies who had erstwhile been brought into the fold of liberal hegemony: blue-collar workers, post-peasants and sections of domestic capital. Finally, the article describes the emergence of a new regime of accumulation and Fidesz's strategy of 'authoritarian re-embedding', which relies on 'institutional authoritarianism' and 'authoritarian populism'. This two-pronged approach has so far allowed the ruling party to stabilise illiberal hegemony, even in the face of reforms that have generated discontents and exacerbated social inequality.