Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022

Violetta Zentai; Margit Feischmidt; Eszter Neumann; Ildikó Zakariás; Csilla Zsigmond

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11

Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022

Violetta Zentai^*
, Margit Feischmidt
, Eszter Neumann
, Ildikó Zakariás
, Csilla Zsigmond

^*Corresponding author for this work

Centre for Social Sciences
Department for Media and Communication Studies
Department of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Debrecen

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report types › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

The chapter explores how civic and municipal actors reassembled material, human, and institutional resources to respond to a situation of urgency generated by the full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent arrival to Hungary of people displaced from Ukraine. We examine local actor coalitions that built different degrees of resilience to an authoritarian state and its social policy regime or capitalised on these conditions without resilience. Harvesting our layered qualitative research, we propose a scheme of modalities of municipalism, as enacted in the observed refugee solidarity operations. Variations are explained by the intersections of vertical and horizontal institutional conditions of solidarity practices, the nexus of main actors and their resources, experiences in inclusion-spirited social policy governance, and the composition of local society. While enduring practices of solidarity for the Ukrainian refugees have largely remained an urban phenomenon in Hungary, small-town and village initiatives played a more salient role in addressing the 2022 asylum event than in 2015. Beyond the urban responses, the discussion of rural forms of municipal refugee solidarity will play an important part in our contribution.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015
Editors	Karolina Łukasiewicz, Marta Pachocka, Michał Nowosielski
Publisher	Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
Pages	213-238
Number of pages	26
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-032-28781-6
ISBN (Print)	978-3-032-28780-9, 978-3-032-28783-0
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11
State	Published - Aug 2026

Publication series

Name	IMISCOE Research Series
Volume	Part F2550
ISSN (Print)	2364-4087
ISSN (Electronic)	2364-4095

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

Refugee solidarity
Hungary
Ukrainian refugees

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11License: CC BY

Zentai-Violetta_2026-08Publisher version, 263 KBLicense: CC BY

Cite this

Zentai, V., Feischmidt, M., Neumann, E., Zakariás, I., & Zsigmond, C. (2026). Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022. In K. Łukasiewicz, M. Pachocka, & M. Nowosielski (Eds.), Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015 (pp. 213-238). (IMISCOE Research Series; Vol. Part F2550). Springer Science and Business Media B.V.. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11

Zentai, Violetta ; Feischmidt, Margit ; Neumann, Eszter et al. / Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary : Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022. Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015. editor / Karolina Łukasiewicz ; Marta Pachocka ; Michał Nowosielski. Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2026. pp. 213-238 (IMISCOE Research Series).

@inbook{77320d9405464d21a14c2b73c1e61fd6,

title = "Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022",

abstract = "The chapter explores how civic and municipal actors reassembled material, human, and institutional resources to respond to a situation of urgency generated by the full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent arrival to Hungary of people displaced from Ukraine. We examine local actor coalitions that built different degrees of resilience to an authoritarian state and its social policy regime or capitalised on these conditions without resilience. Harvesting our layered qualitative research, we propose a scheme of modalities of municipalism, as enacted in the observed refugee solidarity operations. Variations are explained by the intersections of vertical and horizontal institutional conditions of solidarity practices, the nexus of main actors and their resources, experiences in inclusion-spirited social policy governance, and the composition of local society. While enduring practices of solidarity for the Ukrainian refugees have largely remained an urban phenomenon in Hungary, small-town and village initiatives played a more salient role in addressing the 2022 asylum event than in 2015. Beyond the urban responses, the discussion of rural forms of municipal refugee solidarity will play an important part in our contribution.",

keywords = "Refugee solidarity, Hungary, Ukrainian refugees",

author = "Violetta Zentai and Margit Feischmidt and Eszter Neumann and Ildik{\'o} Zakari{\'a}s and Csilla Zsigmond",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026.",

year = "2026",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6\_11",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-3-032-28780-9",

series = "IMISCOE Research Series",

publisher = "Springer Science and Business Media B.V.",

pages = "213--238",

editor = "Karolina {\L}ukasiewicz and Marta Pachocka and Micha{\l} Nowosielski",

booktitle = "Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015",

}

Zentai, V, Feischmidt, M, Neumann, E, Zakariás, I & Zsigmond, C 2026, Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022. in K Łukasiewicz, M Pachocka & M Nowosielski (eds), Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015. IMISCOE Research Series, vol. Part F2550, Springer Science and Business Media B.V., pp. 213-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11

Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022. / Zentai, Violetta; Feischmidt, Margit; Neumann, Eszter et al.
Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015. ed. / Karolina Łukasiewicz; Marta Pachocka; Michał Nowosielski. Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2026. p. 213-238 (IMISCOE Research Series; Vol. Part F2550).

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report types › Chapter › peer-review

TY - CHAP

T1 - Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary

T2 - Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022

AU - Zentai, Violetta

AU - Feischmidt, Margit

AU - Neumann, Eszter

AU - Zakariás, Ildikó

AU - Zsigmond, Csilla

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026.

PY - 2026/8

Y1 - 2026/8

N2 - The chapter explores how civic and municipal actors reassembled material, human, and institutional resources to respond to a situation of urgency generated by the full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent arrival to Hungary of people displaced from Ukraine. We examine local actor coalitions that built different degrees of resilience to an authoritarian state and its social policy regime or capitalised on these conditions without resilience. Harvesting our layered qualitative research, we propose a scheme of modalities of municipalism, as enacted in the observed refugee solidarity operations. Variations are explained by the intersections of vertical and horizontal institutional conditions of solidarity practices, the nexus of main actors and their resources, experiences in inclusion-spirited social policy governance, and the composition of local society. While enduring practices of solidarity for the Ukrainian refugees have largely remained an urban phenomenon in Hungary, small-town and village initiatives played a more salient role in addressing the 2022 asylum event than in 2015. Beyond the urban responses, the discussion of rural forms of municipal refugee solidarity will play an important part in our contribution.

AB - The chapter explores how civic and municipal actors reassembled material, human, and institutional resources to respond to a situation of urgency generated by the full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent arrival to Hungary of people displaced from Ukraine. We examine local actor coalitions that built different degrees of resilience to an authoritarian state and its social policy regime or capitalised on these conditions without resilience. Harvesting our layered qualitative research, we propose a scheme of modalities of municipalism, as enacted in the observed refugee solidarity operations. Variations are explained by the intersections of vertical and horizontal institutional conditions of solidarity practices, the nexus of main actors and their resources, experiences in inclusion-spirited social policy governance, and the composition of local society. While enduring practices of solidarity for the Ukrainian refugees have largely remained an urban phenomenon in Hungary, small-town and village initiatives played a more salient role in addressing the 2022 asylum event than in 2015. Beyond the urban responses, the discussion of rural forms of municipal refugee solidarity will play an important part in our contribution.

KW - Refugee solidarity

KW - Hungary

KW - Ukrainian refugees

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105051052071

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11

DO - 10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11

M3 - Chapter

AN - SCOPUS:105051052071

SN - 978-3-032-28780-9

SN - 978-3-032-28783-0

T3 - IMISCOE Research Series

SP - 213

EP - 238

BT - Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015

A2 - Łukasiewicz, Karolina

A2 - Pachocka, Marta

A2 - Nowosielski, Michał

PB - Springer Science and Business Media B.V.

ER -

Zentai V, Feischmidt M, Neumann E, Zakariás I, Zsigmond C. Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022. In Łukasiewicz K, Pachocka M, Nowosielski M, editors, Migration Governance in Central and Eastern European Cities Post-2015. Springer Science and Business Media B.V. 2026. p. 213-238. (IMISCOE Research Series). doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-28781-6_11

Modalities of Municipalism in Refugee Solidarity in Hungary: Assisting the Displaced from Ukraine, Post-February 2022

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Publication series

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this