Hungary and the Paradoxes of Illiberal Anti-Multiculturalism

The post-2010 regime in Hungary is often labelled as “illiberal,” which poses a direct challenge to the values that are central to post-war European projects like the Council of Europe or the European Union. Within this context, Victor Orbán has rejected liberal multiculturalism and instead advanced an “illiberal multiculturalism” that deploys multiculturalism policies to serve electoral rather than integrationist objectives. This development can only be fully understood when past institutional commitments to minority rights that once made Hungary look like the poster child of the post-socialist transition to liberal democracy are shown to be what they really are: shallow reforms without a genuine commitment to multiculturalism. The chapter concludes with a brief speculation about the possibility of liberal multiculturalism actually emerging in Hungary. Despite all appearances there might yet be hope for the emergence of a genuine commitment to multiculturalism.