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How Viktor Orbán hacked Hungary’s Democracy

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Manage episode 509312021 series 3341267
Content provided by Jamil Simon and Making Peace Visible Inc.. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jamil Simon and Making Peace Visible Inc. or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Since his election in 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has transformed Hungary from a democracy into a quasi-authoritarian country. In Hungary today, elections, economic policies, and the media are warped to benefit Orbán and his conservative Fidesz Party.

Orbán’s government, with its consolidation of executive power, Christian nationalist and anit-LGBTQ policies served as inspiration for Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan for Donald Trump’s second term. Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts has called modern Hungary “not just a model for conservative statecraft but the model.”

A new documentary film, Democracy Noir, shows how Orbán changed Hungarian politics. In the words of Budapest-based journalist Babbett Oroszi, Orbán has “hacked democracy” – quietly using the levers of democracy, rather than a violent revolution, to accomplish his aims. The film tells the story of modern Hungary through the eyes of three three female members of Hungary’s resistance – reporter Oroszi, nurse and activist Niko Antal, and Tímea Szabó, an opposition leader in Hungary’s parliament.

Our guest, director Connie Field, has followed Hungarian politics since the country’s first years as a democracy in the early 1990s. An American progressive and award-winning documentarian, she has a shrewd eye on how Orban’s actions are being mirrored in the United States. The episode also includes discussion of a new leader who observers think has a real chance of upending Orbán’s hold on power in the 2026 election.

LEARN MORE:

Watch a trailer for the film, find out where it’s being screened, or request a screening

Download the discussion guide.

Connie Field bio

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Our associate producer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org

Support our work

Connect on social:

Instagram @makingpeacevisible

LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible

Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social

We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

  continue reading

89 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 509312021 series 3341267
Content provided by Jamil Simon and Making Peace Visible Inc.. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jamil Simon and Making Peace Visible Inc. or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Since his election in 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has transformed Hungary from a democracy into a quasi-authoritarian country. In Hungary today, elections, economic policies, and the media are warped to benefit Orbán and his conservative Fidesz Party.

Orbán’s government, with its consolidation of executive power, Christian nationalist and anit-LGBTQ policies served as inspiration for Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan for Donald Trump’s second term. Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts has called modern Hungary “not just a model for conservative statecraft but the model.”

A new documentary film, Democracy Noir, shows how Orbán changed Hungarian politics. In the words of Budapest-based journalist Babbett Oroszi, Orbán has “hacked democracy” – quietly using the levers of democracy, rather than a violent revolution, to accomplish his aims. The film tells the story of modern Hungary through the eyes of three three female members of Hungary’s resistance – reporter Oroszi, nurse and activist Niko Antal, and Tímea Szabó, an opposition leader in Hungary’s parliament.

Our guest, director Connie Field, has followed Hungarian politics since the country’s first years as a democracy in the early 1990s. An American progressive and award-winning documentarian, she has a shrewd eye on how Orban’s actions are being mirrored in the United States. The episode also includes discussion of a new leader who observers think has a real chance of upending Orbán’s hold on power in the 2026 election.

LEARN MORE:

Watch a trailer for the film, find out where it’s being screened, or request a screening

Download the discussion guide.

Connie Field bio

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Our associate producer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org

Support our work

Connect on social:

Instagram @makingpeacevisible

LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible

Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social

We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

  continue reading

89 episodes

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