Cultures of Illiberalism

Julianna, Lily, Anandi, Adam

Reading:

Kürti, László (2020) “Orbánism: The Culture of Illiberalism in Hungary.” ETHNOLOGIA EUROPAEA, 50 (2). pp. 62-79. https://doi.org/10.16995/ee.1055

What is the purpose and main arguments of the article?

The article highlights an emerging governing system known as illiberal democracy and its presence in Hungary. Illiberal democracy is a system in which a democratically elected government dismantles the democratic structures from inside, and in their favor. This way they can retain maximum control for a long period of time. The author analyzes how Viktor Orbán (Prime Minister of Hungary) and his party reshaped politics in Hungary, by promoting a nationalist but illiberal vision of democracy utilizing nationalism, traditional Christian values, and anti-immigrant rhetoric to coax citizens in their favor. Additionally, the author argues that the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit phenomena in 2016 helped normalize illiberal democracies in civil societies, strengthening Victor Orbán's power over Hungary.

The purpose of this argument is to shed light on how illiberal democracies become a solidified system of governance gaining popular support through xenophobia and fear. It brings to our attention how illiberal political influence gradually infiltrated Hungarian society and can silently rise (or might be rising) in other countries as well.

How does the article highlight or explore the course themes?

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How would you describe the “vibe” of the text?

The overall vibe of the text is tense, unsettling, observant, and critical. The observant aspect comes from the fact that it begins with casually describing everyday life, and local gossip then gradually leads to the conclusion that there is a major societal issue. The article pivots from anecdote to research and analysis. The analysis focuses on immigrants and their national identities as well as their fears and concerns about strong leaders, such as Orbán. As the article shifts from stories to analysis, the “vibe” becomes more critical and concerned, and the clear tensions of the political state of Hungary become more concerning and unsettling, mimicing the social and political environment.

How does this playlist complement the vibes of the text (somatically, sonically, taste, tempo, genre)?

The playlist includes tense, catchy, and politically involved songs with emotional pieces reflecting on how the article transitions between people in everyday life and political systems. Some of the songs use more aggressive tunes to express anger and resentment towards opposition or repression while some of the songs use a more somber tone to reflect on how citizens of places such as Hungary should approach situations like this. The music styles range from energizing songs to uncomfortable songs displaying the articles main theme to mix familiar feelings and tensions. The mix of genres such as hip hop, pop and indie show how expression of resistance can be felt in many forms and many cultures and the span of the playlist helps to capture that.

How did each of you go about finding songs to include in the playlist?

Each member approached finding songs by identifying key themes we found in the text. The themes we found were power, nationalism, and resistance. We wanted the tone, vibe, and diversity of each song to reflect those themes. I focused on songs that reflect the relationship between power and control, and possibilities of restructuring governmental structures. Our songs also highlight how people respond to political forces, whether it be through acts of resistance, solitude, or reflection. For example, POWER illustrates how extreme authority can become, similarly to Orbán's government, a framework for “illiberal democracy.” 3

How did you decide on the order and transitions between each song, including how to begin and how to end?

We decided to order this playlist by the vibe of each message in each song. We started the playlist with songs that had the message of feeling upset within political systems, not feeling heard and yearning for fair treatment, as well as what it feels like to live within these systems. We then transitioned into songs with messages of how to stand up in the face of government control and the importance for unity in these times. Grouped with these songs we also decided to put a song with a critic of the government and how much power an individual can hold within governmental systems. We then transitioned again into more songs of unity, with a Hungarian song followed by another song about nationalism and unity. We ended the playlist with Bella Ciao which is a folk song about freedom and anti-fascism. We thought it was especially important to end with this song because EU Parliament lawmakers sang this song to Orbán in protest in 2024.

Were there ethical concerns or debates that came up while creating this playlist?

We didn’t have many ethical concerns or debates while creating this playlist, but there was one thing that really stuck out to us while we were brainstorming song ideas. While picking out songs we realised that there were a few Kanye West songs that would fit in with the theme nicely, but we as a group had issues with including them. Kanye West has a troubling image and has publicly been anti-semitic, misogynist, and racist. With this in mind, we decided to include only one of Kanye West’s songs, POWER,  because of how closely the message in the song connects to the article but didn’t include any others due to our disagreement with the values he has expressed.