Lídia Balogh, András L. Pap, & Emese Pásztor – Hungary: The Concept of Family Within the Framework of “Illiberal Democracy”

Abstract

The report on Hungary identifies the current government’s political approach, self-labelled as “illiberal democracy” and manifested in a new Constitution and a Civil Code, as a decisive factor regarding family politics and the legal framework regulating various aspects of family life and private life. The authors find that these family policies/frameworks (directly or indirectly) create an unequal situation for those who do not live according to the government’s preferred family model. This model means, first of all, a family which is based on the marriage of a man and a woman, who raise together their (biological) children, preferably under middle-class socioeconomic conditions. Those who do not fit into this model (cohabiting partners, single parents, same-sex couples, families living in poverty, etc.) may find themselves in a disfavoured “minority situation” despite the fact that these groups of individuals/families constitute a significant part of Hungarian society.