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Viktor Orbán’s use of history in the European refugee crisis

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Author

  • Ibrahim Kareem

Summary, in English

Viktor Orbán as the Prime Minister of Hungary is a figure that dominates headlines both at home and abroad. During his time in Hungarian and European politics, he has never shied away from using history to bolster his political message. Following the ongoing refugee crisis of 2015, he has employed history as tool against refugees. This paper aims to investigate which aspects of Hungarian history Orbán focuses on in his rhetoric against the refugees coming to Europe, and how he uses it. The hypothesis of this research is that Orbán focuses on the historical trauma of Hungary to stigmatize the incoming refugees, helping him to achieve his political goal of keeping refugees out of Hungary. With shifting demographics in Europe, anti-EU sentiment, a rise of nationalism, and global instability, this Hungarian example of how a politician can use history is an important example going forward. Such tactics may be used again by politicians causing further divisions and furthering a us vs them mentality in Europe.

Department/s

Publishing year

2017

Language

English

Document type

Student publication for Master's degree (two years)

Topic

  • Social Sciences

Keywords

  • European Studies
  • refugee crisis
  • Hungary
  • uses of history

Supervisor

  • Sanimir Resic (Associate Professor)