Hungary as a Laboratory for Illiberal Governance (cato.org)

• Consolidation of power through institutional capture
• Strategic use of nationalism to circumvent EU oversight
• Long-term impact on democratic resilience in the region

"Hungary’s political evolution under the current administration serves as a case study for the consolidation of illiberal nationalism within a Western framework. By capturing state institutions, centralizing media control, and leveraging constitutional changes, the ruling party has created a resilient power structure that challenges traditional democratic norms. This report evaluates the long-term impact on governance, noting how the state utilizes 'sovereignty' as a narrative to bypass EU checks and balances, effectively testing the endurance of the European legal order when confronted with internally generated authoritarian trends."