The Civic Embeddedness of Hungary's Fidesz Party

Rise and Resilience of Populism in Eastern Europe

Professor Béla Greskovits discusses how the Fidesz party accumulated social capital and translated it into political capital and electoral success in 2010. The Civic Circles Movement, founded by Fidesz’ leader Viktor Orban after he lost the 2002 parliamentary elections, has been militant in terms of its hegemonic aspirations and collective practices as well as massive in terms of its membership and activism. It offered new frames and practices for Hungarians to feel, think, and act as members of an imagined community centered on the Nation, Christianity, and anti-liberalism. Speaker: Dr. Béla Greskovits is a University Professor at the Department of International Relations and Department of Political Science of Central European University, Vienna and Budapest.