Tainted Democracy

Viktor Orban and the Subversion of Hungary

Tainted Democracy
Zsuzsanna Szelenyi
RRP:
NZ$ 69.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 57.74
Hardback
h216 x 138mm - 352pg
13 Oct 2022 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9781787388024
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Hungary, once the poster-child of liberal democracy, is fast becoming an autocracy under Viktor Orban. After winning an absolute majority in 2010, Orban launched a series of ' reforms' , fundamentally undermining the country' s twenty-year, post-Cold War liberal consensus. For supporters and foes alike, the rise and rise of Hungary' s prime minister is a vivid example of how democracy can be subverted from within. Zsuzsanna Szelenyi, a founding member of Orban' s Fidesz, has witnessed first-hand the party' s shift from liberalism to populist nationalism. Offering an insider' s account of Fidesz' s evolution since its creation, she explains how the party rose to leadership of the country under Orban and made sweeping legal, political and economic changes to solidify its grip on power--from reining in the public media to slashing the number of parliamentary seats. She answers a key question: why has Orban been so successful, winning widespread support within Hungary and wielding considerable influence in European politics? And how can Hungary' s opposition party Together, which she co-founded in 2014, work to turn the country around? Underpinned by Szelenyi' s own experiences at the heart of Hungarian politics, Tainted Democracy offers accessible, nuanced insights into the global rise of populist autocracy--and how it can be challenged.
' Szelenyi' s insider account relates with forensic detail how Orban--inspired by Berlusconi and Putin--captured Hungarian voters and, in the process, enriched himself and his cronies at the expense of Hungarian democracy. This is a sobering but absolutely essential narrative of aborted democracy in a country that once held such promise. ' -- Kati Marton, journalist, and author of The Chancellor ' If you are interested in the gloomy fate of modern Hungary, illiberalism and how a European country can be subverted from the inside, then this is the book for you. Zsuzsanna Szelenyi has lived and breathed Hungarian politics for more than thirty years which means that this is the right book, written at the right time, by the right person. ' -- Tim Judah, Special Correspondent for The Economist, and author of In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine ' A cautionary tale for the whole of Europe. With unrivalled insight and precious autobiographical detail, Zsuzsanna Szelenyi traces Hungary' s descent into authoritarianism under Viktor Orban. ' -- Dimitar Bechev, Lecturer in Russian and East European Studies, Oxford University, and author of Turkey Under Erdogan: How a Country Turned from Democracy and the West
Zsuzsanna Szelenyi is a Hungarian politician and foreign policy specialist. In the 1990s, she was an activist and MP for Fidesz, then a liberal anti-Communist party. After working at the Council of Europe for fifteen years, she returned to politics in 2012, representing the liberal opposition in Parliament.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781787388024
Published: 13 Oct 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: C Hurst & Co Publishers
Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers
Format: Hardback
Height: 216mm
Width: 138mm
Pages: 352

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