Civic Participation in Hungary, Part 2
Abstract
This article continues previous research on civil society in Hungary, focusing this time on an empirical analysis of citizens’ attitudes towards local government. The main goal is to assess the extent to which declared interest in local affairs translates into actual forms of participation in public life. The author hypothesizes the existence of a gap between citizens’ declarations and actions, resulting from institutional barriers (centralization, limited local government autonomy) and socio-cultural barriers (low trust, lack of transparency, fear of politicization). The analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative research conducted among Hungarian residents. The article provides a diagnosis of the state of local participation and suggests possible directions for strengthening it in conditions of limited democracy.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ajzen, I., The Theory of Planned Behavior, “Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes”, 1991, vol. 50(2).
Almond, G.A., Verba, S., The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1963.
Bogaards, M., De-Democratization in Hungary: Diffusely Defective Democracy, “Democratization”, 2018, vol. 25(8). https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2018.1485015
Daily News Hungary, Hungarian Government Says National Consultation Was a Success: But Was It?, https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian-government-says-national-consultation-was-a-success-but-was-it/, access 09 X 2025.
Dejusticia, The Hungarian Case and Its Anti-NGO Laws, https://www.dejusticia.org/en/the-hungarian-case-and-its-anti-ngo-laws/, access 09 X 2025.
Ekman, J., Amnå, E., Political Participation and Civic Engagement: Towards a New Typology, “Human Affairs”, 2012, vol. 22(3).
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2025 – Hungary, https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2123534.html, access 09 X 2025.
Fung, A., Varieties of Participation in Complex Governance, “Public Administration Review”, 2006, vol. 66(s1).
Halmai G., Illiberal Constitutionalism in Hungary and Beyond, “German Law Journal”, 2019, 20(3).
Howard, M.M., The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003.
Kancik-Kołtun, E., Civic Participation in Hungary, Part 1, “Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, sectio M – Balcaniensis et Carpathiensis”, 2024, vol. 9, https://doi.org/10.17951/bc.2024.9.227-240.
Kancik-Kołtun E., The Partisanization of Local Government as a Problem of Local Democracies in the Visegrad Group Countries, [in:] 30 Years of the Visegrad Group. Volume 4: Problems of Contemporary Democracies in the Visegrad Group Countries, ed. E. Kancik-Kołtun, MCSU Press, Lublin 2025.
Kancik-Kołtun, E., The State of Civil Society and the Functioning of Democracy in the Visegrad countries, [in:] Region v rozvoji společnosti 2024. Sborník příspěvků z 12. z mezinárodní vědecké konference, eds. J. Smolík, J. Nesiba, Mendelova Univerzita, Brno 2025, https://doi.org/10.11118/978-80-7701-030-6-0055.
Ökotárs Foundation, Civic Space Report 2025 – Hungary, European Civic Forum, https://civic-forum.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Civic-Space-Report-2025-Hungary.pdf, access 09 X 2025.
Putnam, R.D., Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, New York 2000.
Soós, G., Local Government and Decentralization in Hungary, [in:] The Oxford Handbook of Local and Regional Democracy in Europe, eds. J. Loughlin, F. Hendriks, A. Lidström, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011.
Transparency International Hungary, Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, https://transparency.hu/en/adatok-a-korrupciorol/korrupcio-erzekelesi-index/cpi-2024/, access 09 X 2025.
Van Deth J., A Conceptual Map of Political Participation, “Acta Politica”, 2014, vol. 49(3).
Verba, S., Schlozman, K.L., Brady, H.E., Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1995.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/bc.2025.10.131-147
Date of publication: 2025-12-22 15:07:53
Date of submission: 2025-12-22 14:48:31
Statistics
Indicators
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ewelina Kancik-Kołtun
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.