The Illusion of inclusion. Configurations of populism in Hungary

Populist rhetoric always promises a new, more inclusive political community but very often this only achieves new ways of exclusion. Populism is one of the most flexible terms in the history of ideas and in political science therefore it can often co-exist with different regimes and ideologies. In the case of Hungary, populism appeared first as a reaction to Western capitalism and to the lost World War I, and offered a dream-like “garden country” against major international regimes, totalitarian or democratic. However, populism changed its character from time to time: it revived nationalism in the communist period, it expressed reservations to the elite-driven regime change, it featured anti-liberalism, and finally it presented itself as a renewed rhetoric of “nationalist neoliberalism”. Among the several understandings of populism, Edward Shils’ definition is accepted – this states that in populist discourse the will of the people enjoys top priority in the face of any other principle, right or institutional standard. Populism identifies the people with justice and morality. The discourse analytic approach to populism is broad enough to discuss different historical epochs with regard to populism without inflating the concept.