Civil Society and COVID-19 in Hungary: The Complete Annexation of Civil Space

Abstract

The paper examines the CSOs – government relations during the COVID-19 pandemic, first introducing how the pandemic affected the already authoritarian regime in Hungary and how this regime utilized the epidemic to extend and fortify its power. Then the paper presents the antecedents of the relationship between civil society and government in the frame of the National System of Cooperation (NSC). This relationship is unilaterally dominated by the government, and it may appear as a “4C strategy”: Cooptation, Coercion, Crowding out, Creation (the creation of a new, loyal civil society). Exploring the civil society and government relations during the pandemic, the study will conclude that there was no government attempt to coordinate the activities of CSOs or to try to harmonize sectoral cooperation from a broader perspective. The occurrences demonstrated the explosion of solidarity and the carnival of solidarity. These forms of solidarity, however, remain informal and leave deepening structural problems untouched. The paper presents the results of an empirical research which was conducted between March and September of 2020. The nodal points of the research include the resilience and flexibility of the organizations, their efforts to assist during the emergency and lockdown, as well as the issues of networking and the nature of their relations with the national and local authorities.

WITHDRAWN: Peace, Conflicts, and the Covid-19: A Meta-Analysis at Global Level

“…The committee's objectives are to follow up on investigations quickly, to provide public information on patient statistics, to fund, and to provide medicine and equipment in time [51]. The committee's approach to overcome the epidemic should consider health resources, different spheres of implementation, civil society organizations, and internal protests [52,53].…”

Illiberal and Populist Political Narratives on Gender and Underreporting of Sexual Violence: A Case Study of Hungary

“…In seeking narratives as to why sexual violence continues to be underreported in the country, I identified four recurring themes from the interviews: (a) attitudes towards victims of sexual violence, and the level of trust in society; (b) the illiberal political climate; (c) organizational and structural mechanisms in the victim support services; and (d) victims' needs not corresponding with the realities of the formal and informal procedure of justice. Organizational and structural problems at CSOs (Kövér et al, 2021;Szabó & Virág, 2022) and victims' needs not corresponding with formal (criminal) justice services were discussed elsewhere, thus, not being analyzed here. Instead, I will concentrate on the first two domains as the most related to the article's theme.…”

“…GONGOs are loyal to the political regime; hence, they receive immense support and funding to reach wider audiences with the politically-backed agenda of protecting the family unit. Meanwhile, since the second term of the Orbán regime started in 2010, not only has public funding been taken away from independent CSOs, but they have also become stigmatized and discredited for critiquing the government in its illiberal tendencies, rendering their operations nearly impossible (Kövér et al, 2021).…”

Populizmus, egyházak és oktatáspolitika a 2010 utáni Magyarországon

“…Míg a Katolikus Egyház esetében az Apostoli Szentszékkel kötött nemzetközi megállapodás az irányadó, az állam, biztosítva a kiszervezett szolgáltatások kiszámítható finanszíro zását 2017 óta több bevett egyházzal is átfogó megállapodást kötött: a Magyar Refor mátus Egyházzal 2017ben, az Egységes Magyar Izraelita Hitközséggel 2019ben, a Magyar Evangélikus egyházzal és a Hit Gyülekezetével 2020ban, majd legutóbb, 2021 ben a Magyarországi Baptista Egyházzal. Eközben a szabályozás az oktatási és szociális téren tevékenykedő civil szervezeteket is igyekszik egyházi keretekbe terelni, kooptálni ( Kövér-Antal-Deák 2021).…”