Gábor Dobos - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers in English by Gábor Dobos

Research paper thumbnail of How to Measure the Strength of Judicial Decisions: A Methodological Framework

Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with di... more Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with diverse approaches have been published on the practice of constitutional adjudication, several methodological problems still prevail. The main deficiency of the systematic empirical research on constitutional adjudication consist in an unsophisticated dichotomous approach that separates the merely positive and negative decisions of constitutional courts, i.e. decisions that concluded in declaring the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of a given legislative act. This approach has been deeply inconsistent with the worldwide practice of constitutional adjudication, since the latter shows a widespread differentiation of judicial decisions over the last thirty years. In this study, we have elaborated a more sophisticated methodology for systematically mapping the manifold reality of constitutional adjudication, and measuring the strength of judicial decisions. In order to fit the research to reality, we have elaborated a scale to measure the strength of judicial decisions. This scale seems to be an appropriate tool to answer the main descriptive research question of our project: to what extent have decisions of constitutional courts constrained the legislative's room for maneuver? The present methodological paper focuses on the problem how to measure the strength of judicial decisions vis-à-vis the legislation and shows, by means of the first results of a pilot project, how this new methodology might be applied.

Research paper thumbnail of How to Measure the Strength of Judicial Decisions: A Methodological Framework

GERMAN LAW JOURNAL, 2017

Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with di... more Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with diverse approaches have been published on the practice of constitutional adjudication, several methodological problems still prevail. The main deficiency of the systematic empirical research on constitutional adjudication consist in an unsophisticated dichotomous approach that separates the merely positive and negative decisions of constitutional courts, i.e. decisions that concluded in declaring the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of a given legislative act. This approach has been deeply inconsistent with the worldwide practice of constitutional adjudication, since the latter shows a widespread differentiation of judicial decisions over the last thirty years. In this study, we have elaborated a more sophisticated methodology for systematically mapping the manifold reality of constitutional adjudication, and measuring the strength of judicial decisions. In order to fit the research to reality, we have elaborated a scale to measure the strength of judicial decisions. This scale seems to be an appropriate tool to answer the main descriptive research question of our project: to what extent have decisions of constitutional courts constrained the legislative's room for maneuver? The present methodological paper focuses on the problem how to measure the strength of judicial decisions vis-à-vis the legislation and shows, by means of the first results of a pilot project, how this new methodology might be applied. * Senior research fellow, principal investigator (JUDICON project),

Research paper thumbnail of Dissenting Coalitions at the Hungarian Constitutional Court 1990-2018

in: Martin Belov (ed.): The Role of Courts in Contemporary Legal Orders (The Hague: Eleven Publishing), pp. 371-383, 2019

Our study aims to give a general account of the relation between the judges’ political background... more Our study aims to give a general account of the relation between the judges’ political background and their behavior in the different institutional and political settings that determined the functioning of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) between 1990 and 2018. We intend to explore whether political background might have a role in determining whether a judge joins the majority or dissents. Based on a network analysis, our results suggest that considering the three periods of the HCC, political background was a determining factor already before
2010 even in the case of judges elected by a political compromise. First, our study describes the applicability of a slightly modified version of the attitudinal approach that suggests that judicial behavior is influenced by political background; then it moves to the methodology that allows for quantifying the CCs’ decisions regarding their strength and the role of dissenting opinions, as well as determining judges’ coalitions by adopting network analysis. Second, we analyze judicial behavior and coalitions to give an account for a periodization of the practice of the HCC since 1990 and draw a map of networks determined by judges’ political background.

Papers by Gábor Dobos

Research paper thumbnail of Do constitutional courts restrict government policy? The effects of budgetary implications and bloc-politics in the Hungarian Constitutional Court's decisions between 1990 and 2018

East European Politics, Oct 3, 2022

In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became... more In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became important political actors. At the same time, evidence suggests that courts have been reluctant to adjudicate on issues with heavy budgetary implications. Furthermore, the political leaning of the judges influences decisions that make courts more cautious of criticizing governments or constraining the government's room to manoeuvre. The analysis looks at the decisions of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) between 1990 and 2018. We conclude that the potential budgetary consequences of a decision do not weigh in with the judicial output. Furthermore, right-leaning courts are more likely to declare a law unconstitutional that was passed by a left-wing parliamentary majority, whereas left-wing courts adjudicate unconstitutionality with about roughly the same likelihood in the cases of right-and leftleaning parliaments. Our results highlight that while the Hungarian Constitutional Court does not narrow the parliamentary majority's room to manoeuvre by blocking policies with serious budgetary consequences, bloc-politics is still not alien from its functioning.

Research paper thumbnail of Courts compared

Constitutional Politics and the Judiciary

Research paper thumbnail of Változó intézmény, változó szerepek: a magyar önkormányzati rendszer átalakulása a polgármesterek szemüvegén keresztül

Research paper thumbnail of Do constitutional courts restrict government policy? The effects of budgetary implications and bloc-politics in the Hungarian Constitutional Court's decisions between 1990 and 2018

East European Politics, Oct 3, 2022

In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became... more In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became important political actors. At the same time, evidence suggests that courts have been reluctant to adjudicate on issues with heavy budgetary implications. Furthermore, the political leaning of the judges influences decisions that make courts more cautious of criticizing governments or constraining the government's room to manoeuvre. The analysis looks at the decisions of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) between 1990 and 2018. We conclude that the potential budgetary consequences of a decision do not weigh in with the judicial output. Furthermore, right-leaning courts are more likely to declare a law unconstitutional that was passed by a left-wing parliamentary majority, whereas left-wing courts adjudicate unconstitutionality with about roughly the same likelihood in the cases of right-and leftleaning parliaments. Our results highlight that while the Hungarian Constitutional Court does not narrow the parliamentary majority's room to manoeuvre by blocking policies with serious budgetary consequences, bloc-politics is still not alien from its functioning.

Research paper thumbnail of Impacts of Populism on the Party Systems

This paper investigates the influence populist parties exert on other political parties and the p... more This paper investigates the influence populist parties exert on other political parties and the party system. Undertaking a national qualitative case studies analysis, we tested four hypotheses: representation gap hypothesis (populist parties pursue a strategy that is designed to exploit gaps of representation by means of emphasizing new or revitalizing old conflicts); contagion hypothesis (the rise of populist parties is accompanied with an overall diffusion of populist ideas in the policy agenda of non-populist parties); polarization hypothesis (the rise of populist parties makes party systems more acutely polarised) and elective affinity coalition hypothesis (populist parties enter governing coalitions with other populist parties and also with non-populist parties if the latter also employ at least one of the typical themes of populist discourse, e.g., nationalist, nativist, anti-establishment, Eurosceptic themes). Results support the representation gap hypothesis: with the populists' electoral success, they represent new issues in parliament. Concerning the contagion hypothesis, case studies offered mixed results: in some countries contagion can be observed, while not in others. As for the polarization hypothesis, polarization was identified as a clear tendency.

Research paper thumbnail of Populist Parties in Contemporary Europe

Populism is the “40 is the new 30” of political research, buzzing for the last two decades with w... more Populism is the “40 is the new 30” of political research, buzzing for the last two decades with what seems as an unfading energy. A lot of attention has been paid to defining the phenomena and outlining its general features. Significantly less notice has been paid to political parties. Even less work has been done on comparative party populism in contemporary Europe, one that would take into consideration social, political and historical aspects. This paper fills this void. Examining sixteen European populist parties and movements across the continent, we argue that while all adhere to the standard populist framework, there is not one but four populisms in contemporary Europe. We demonstrate our argument by positioning the case selection against the following dichotomies: exclusionary v. inclusionary populism, authoritarian v. non-authoritarian populism, strong nativist v. weak nativist populism, and radical democratic v. conspiratorial populism. Based on these variables, we introdu...

Research paper thumbnail of Masking the Strangulation of Opposition Parties as Pandemic Response: Austerity Measures Targeting the Local Level in Hungary

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society

While a large literature studies the various tools of autocratic survival, targeting opposition a... more While a large literature studies the various tools of autocratic survival, targeting opposition actors with austerity measures in electoral autocracies is hitherto understudied. This paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a rare opportunity for Hungary’s Fidesz party to disarm opposition parties via cutting off resources of municipalities led by opposition mayors and eliminating any remnants of local governments’ fiscal autonomy. Analysing original data from government decrees on local transfers, this study contributes to the existing literature by conceptualising fiscal strangulation as part of electoral authoritarian regimes’ toolbox to discredit opposition parties and their ability to govern locally.

Research paper thumbnail of Mítosz és valóság. Mennyire korlátozta az Alkotmánybíróság a törvényhozás mozgásterét?

A magyar Alkotmánybíróság (AB) elmúlt több mint negyedszázados működése körül több olyan narratív... more A magyar Alkotmánybíróság (AB) elmúlt több mint negyedszázados működése körül több olyan narratíva is kialakult, amelyeknek egy részét a valóság visszaigazolja, mások azonban egyértelműen cáfolhatók. Jelen tanulmány egyik fő megállapítása az, hogy a magyar Alkotmánybíróság korántsem korlátozta olyan mértékben a törvényhozás mozgásterét, mint ahogy azt a róla kialakult kép alapján sokan gondolják. A JUDICON kutatási projekt adatbázisának elemzése alapján megállapíthatjuk, hogy a magyar Alkotmánybíróságra vonatkozó adatok belesimulni látszanak a régiós alkotmánybíróságokra vonatkozó adatokba, amennyiben a döntések erősségére, azaz arra fókuszálunk, hogy milyen mértékben korlátozták az alkotmánybíróságok a törvényhozás mozgásterét. Másrészről a döntések sokszínűsége tekintetében jelen tanulmány arra hívja fel a figyelmet, hogy a magyar Alkotmánybíróság már nagyon korán diverzifikálta a döntéseit és régiós összehasonlításban igencsak gyakran élt a klasszikusnak mondható döntéstípusokon túl kreatívabb eszközökkel is. Harmadrészt a vizsgált időszakban egyértelműen megfigyelhető egy polarizációs trend az Alkotmánybíróságon belül, amely megjelenik a különvélemények arányának folyamatos növekedésében, illetve az egyéni bírói viselkedés mintázataiban is.

Research paper thumbnail of Weak but Not Powerless

After the chaotic years of 1944-1945, the republic had been proclaimed by the Act I of 1946, whic... more After the chaotic years of 1944-1945, the republic had been proclaimed by the Act I of 1946, which had simultaneously pronounced that the head of state is the president of the republic, possessing brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk

Research paper thumbnail of Hogyan mérjük az alkotmánybírósági döntések erősségét?

Kivételként megemlítendő Bricker munkája, amely empirikus és szisztematikus módon vizsgálja négy ... more Kivételként megemlítendő Bricker munkája, amely empirikus és szisztematikus módon vizsgálja négy közép-európai alkotmánybíróság ítélkezési gyakorlatát. Lásd Bricker (2. lj.) 62. Ez a munka ugyanakkor olyan megközelítést választ, amely nem alkalmas arra, hogy megválaszolja kutatásunk alapkérdését (az alkotmánybíróságok milyen mértékben korlátozzák a törvényhozást?). Mivel Bricker pusztán az alkotmányosnak minősített, ill. az alkotmányellenesnek minősített, és ezáltal megsemmisített törvényhozási aktusok között tesz különbséget, a mi általunk feltett kutatási kérdésekre nem tud választ adni.

Research paper thumbnail of Courts Compared the Practice of Constitutional Adjudication in Central and Eastern Europe

Social Science Research Network, Sep 1, 2019

The country studies of the present volume have analysed Central European constitutional adjudicat... more The country studies of the present volume have analysed Central European constitutional adjudication from several perspectives, focusing on the data of individual countries to be able to say something about salient years or longitudinal trends in majority rulings, dissenting opinions, the role of the presidents, and diversity of ruling types or strength of judicial rulings in each country. In contrast to these country studies, this chapter deals with the ‘big picture’ by analysing the dataset comparatively and, at the end of the chapter, assessing the practice of constitutional adjudication in six countries in general. First, we compare briefly the proportion of relevant rulings and decisions in the six countries (Section 9.1). Second, we disclose the differences and similarities in the courts’ practice of selecting various ruling types (Section 9.2). Section 9.3 focuses on the distribution of strength values, while Section 9.4 presents the longitudinal trends in strength values compared. In the last section, we compare the six courts from the perspective of whether and how often they published dissenting opinions.

Research paper thumbnail of Populist Governance in Regional and Local Governments

Research paper thumbnail of Választási ígéretek és kormányzati teljesítés Magyarországon, 1990-2014

A Valasztasi igeretek es kormanyzati teljesites Magyarorszagon, 1990-2010 kutatasi projekt uttorő... more A Valasztasi igeretek es kormanyzati teljesites Magyarorszagon, 1990-2010 kutatasi projekt uttorő jellegű a magyar politikatudomanyban. Megvalosulasaval uj tudomanyos eredmenyeket varunk arrol, hogy milyen a kapcsolat a partok kampanyigeretei es a tenyleges kormanypolitika kozott, es – egy kesőbbi szakaszban – arrol is, hogy a kormanyok teljesitmenye hogyan hat a szavazoi viselkedesre. A kutatas eredmenyekeppen pontosabb kepet remelunk a kormanypolitika kiszamithatosagarol, a kormanyzast vegző politikai vezetők autonomiajarol, azaz arrol, hogy tevekenyseguk mennyiben koveti a valasztoi akaratot es mennyire van kiteve a szavazopolgarok ellenőrzesenek. E kerdesek megvalaszolasa segit abban, hogy tobbet tudjunk meg a demokracia, a mindenkori kormanypolitika es a kozpolitika minősegeről. A kutatasi projekt jelenlegi celja annak megallapitasa, hogy a magyarorszagi partok (1) mennyiben tesznek vilagos, szamon kerhető igereteket, (2) ezeket kormanyra kerulve mennyire teljesitik, es (3) milyen tenyezők befolyasoljak a valasztasi igeretek egyertelműseget es vegrehajtasat. A projekt nyilt, arra torekszik, hogy az igeretekkel kapcsolatos egyeb kutatasokat is osztonozzon. A fajlok tartalma: - leteti nyilatkozat - kodkonyv - Fidesz, MSZP, SZDSZ 2002-es lekodolt kampanyigereteinek adatbazisai (.sav) - MSZP es SZDSZ osszesitett adatbazis (.xlsx)

Research paper thumbnail of Hungary

The Routledge Handbook of Local Elections and Voting in Europe, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Regional Elections in Hungary: Second-Order Elections or Not?

Wie ist eine exakte Wissenschaft von der Literatur möglich? Wir wollen die Feinheit und Strenge d... more Wie ist eine exakte Wissenschaft von der Literatur möglich? Wir wollen die Feinheit und Strenge der Mathematik in alle Wissenschaften hineintragen, soweit es nur irgend möglich ist; nicht im Glauben, daß wir auf diesem Wege die Dinge erkennen werden, sondern um damit unsere menschliche Relation zu den Dingen festzustellen. Nietzsche, Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (Abschnitt III, 246) 1 1. Eine Begegnung Im Nachhinein neigen wir alle dazu, in den Mäandern des eigenen Lebens einen gewissen inneren Zusammenhang zu sehen: man entscheidet sich, dies oder jenes zu studieren, diesen oder jenen Beruf zu ergreifen, mit diesem oder jenem Menschen zusammenzusein, und wo die Entscheidung nicht selbst getroffen war, da war es doch oft genug eine höhere Hand, die den Gang der Dinge so gelenkt hat, daß sie eine Ordnung, vielleicht gar eine gewisse Harmonie zeigen: werde, was Du bist. In Wirklichkeit scheint mir das Leben eine Kette von Zufällen; nichts ist ohne Grund, aber alles, oder doch fast alles, hätte auch anders sein können. Als ich im Frühjahr 1965 in Saarbrücken das Studium aufnehmen wollte, lag zwischen Abitur und Ablauf der Immatrikulationsfrist nur ein Tag, wenig Zeit zu reiflicher Überlegung am Kreuzweg. Ich wollte entweder die Philologien studieren, dies aus Liebe zur Literatur, oder Mathematik, dies aus Liebe zur reinsten aller Wissenschaften, zu jener, die man, da am wenigsten von empirischen Beimengungen berührt, die eigentliche Geisteswissenschaft nennen muß. Anders als Buridans Esel hat der Mensch die Möglichkeit, das Los zu werfen, und in meinem Fall hat es für die Literatur gesprochen. So habe ich Germanistik und Romanistik studiert, immer mit dem Hintergedanken, daß sich der Geist der reinen Wissenschaft auch in diesen finden ließe. Die Erfahrung der beiden ersten Semester hat dem nicht in jeder Hinsicht entsprochen. Die wissenschaftliche Beschäftigung mit der Literatur war damals ungemein bereichernd, was die Vermehrung des Wissens angeht: die Lehrer jener Jahre haben gnadenlos auf Faktenkenntnis geachtet. Um August Lan-Dies ist das Zitat eines Zitats eines Zitats: Ich zitiere hier das Ende von Helmut Kreuzers Einleitung zu Mathematik und Dichtung, in der er seinen Freund und Mitherausgeber Rul Gunzenhäuser zitiert, der Friedrich Nietzsche zitiert.

Research paper thumbnail of Changing Local Relations: Effects of Political and Administrative Reforms in Hungary DRAFT: PLEASE DO NOT CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION

The study focuses on the reforms of the Hungarian local government between 2010 and 2014. After i... more The study focuses on the reforms of the Hungarian local government between 2010 and 2014. After its overwhelming national electoral success in 2010, the right-wing party Fidesz altered the Hungarian political system in many aspects. Numerous provisions affected also the sub-national (middle and local level) political institutions. On the one hand, the local electoral reform in 2010 resulted in a shift of the political relations within the subnational governments, as the new electoral rules made possible for the stronger political actors (typically the national parties) to become more dominant over the weaker participants of the local politics (typically the civil organizations). On the other hand, the administrative reforms between 2011 and 2014 changed the daily operation of the local governments: the Fidesz cabinet modified the system of finance and tasks on local level, strengthened the position of the state’s agencies and administrative institutions, while limited the activity o...

Research paper thumbnail of The Hungarian Constitutional Court

Constitutional Politics and the Judiciary, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of How to Measure the Strength of Judicial Decisions: A Methodological Framework

Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with di... more Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with diverse approaches have been published on the practice of constitutional adjudication, several methodological problems still prevail. The main deficiency of the systematic empirical research on constitutional adjudication consist in an unsophisticated dichotomous approach that separates the merely positive and negative decisions of constitutional courts, i.e. decisions that concluded in declaring the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of a given legislative act. This approach has been deeply inconsistent with the worldwide practice of constitutional adjudication, since the latter shows a widespread differentiation of judicial decisions over the last thirty years. In this study, we have elaborated a more sophisticated methodology for systematically mapping the manifold reality of constitutional adjudication, and measuring the strength of judicial decisions. In order to fit the research to reality, we have elaborated a scale to measure the strength of judicial decisions. This scale seems to be an appropriate tool to answer the main descriptive research question of our project: to what extent have decisions of constitutional courts constrained the legislative's room for maneuver? The present methodological paper focuses on the problem how to measure the strength of judicial decisions vis-à-vis the legislation and shows, by means of the first results of a pilot project, how this new methodology might be applied.

Research paper thumbnail of How to Measure the Strength of Judicial Decisions: A Methodological Framework

GERMAN LAW JOURNAL, 2017

Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with di... more Although over the last thirty years an increasing number of scientific articles and books with diverse approaches have been published on the practice of constitutional adjudication, several methodological problems still prevail. The main deficiency of the systematic empirical research on constitutional adjudication consist in an unsophisticated dichotomous approach that separates the merely positive and negative decisions of constitutional courts, i.e. decisions that concluded in declaring the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of a given legislative act. This approach has been deeply inconsistent with the worldwide practice of constitutional adjudication, since the latter shows a widespread differentiation of judicial decisions over the last thirty years. In this study, we have elaborated a more sophisticated methodology for systematically mapping the manifold reality of constitutional adjudication, and measuring the strength of judicial decisions. In order to fit the research to reality, we have elaborated a scale to measure the strength of judicial decisions. This scale seems to be an appropriate tool to answer the main descriptive research question of our project: to what extent have decisions of constitutional courts constrained the legislative's room for maneuver? The present methodological paper focuses on the problem how to measure the strength of judicial decisions vis-à-vis the legislation and shows, by means of the first results of a pilot project, how this new methodology might be applied. * Senior research fellow, principal investigator (JUDICON project),

Research paper thumbnail of Dissenting Coalitions at the Hungarian Constitutional Court 1990-2018

in: Martin Belov (ed.): The Role of Courts in Contemporary Legal Orders (The Hague: Eleven Publishing), pp. 371-383, 2019

Our study aims to give a general account of the relation between the judges’ political background... more Our study aims to give a general account of the relation between the judges’ political background and their behavior in the different institutional and political settings that determined the functioning of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) between 1990 and 2018. We intend to explore whether political background might have a role in determining whether a judge joins the majority or dissents. Based on a network analysis, our results suggest that considering the three periods of the HCC, political background was a determining factor already before
2010 even in the case of judges elected by a political compromise. First, our study describes the applicability of a slightly modified version of the attitudinal approach that suggests that judicial behavior is influenced by political background; then it moves to the methodology that allows for quantifying the CCs’ decisions regarding their strength and the role of dissenting opinions, as well as determining judges’ coalitions by adopting network analysis. Second, we analyze judicial behavior and coalitions to give an account for a periodization of the practice of the HCC since 1990 and draw a map of networks determined by judges’ political background.

Research paper thumbnail of Do constitutional courts restrict government policy? The effects of budgetary implications and bloc-politics in the Hungarian Constitutional Court's decisions between 1990 and 2018

East European Politics, Oct 3, 2022

In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became... more In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became important political actors. At the same time, evidence suggests that courts have been reluctant to adjudicate on issues with heavy budgetary implications. Furthermore, the political leaning of the judges influences decisions that make courts more cautious of criticizing governments or constraining the government's room to manoeuvre. The analysis looks at the decisions of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) between 1990 and 2018. We conclude that the potential budgetary consequences of a decision do not weigh in with the judicial output. Furthermore, right-leaning courts are more likely to declare a law unconstitutional that was passed by a left-wing parliamentary majority, whereas left-wing courts adjudicate unconstitutionality with about roughly the same likelihood in the cases of right-and leftleaning parliaments. Our results highlight that while the Hungarian Constitutional Court does not narrow the parliamentary majority's room to manoeuvre by blocking policies with serious budgetary consequences, bloc-politics is still not alien from its functioning.

Research paper thumbnail of Courts compared

Constitutional Politics and the Judiciary

Research paper thumbnail of Változó intézmény, változó szerepek: a magyar önkormányzati rendszer átalakulása a polgármesterek szemüvegén keresztül

Research paper thumbnail of Do constitutional courts restrict government policy? The effects of budgetary implications and bloc-politics in the Hungarian Constitutional Court's decisions between 1990 and 2018

East European Politics, Oct 3, 2022

In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became... more In the past thirty years, with the global spread of judicial review, constitutional courts became important political actors. At the same time, evidence suggests that courts have been reluctant to adjudicate on issues with heavy budgetary implications. Furthermore, the political leaning of the judges influences decisions that make courts more cautious of criticizing governments or constraining the government's room to manoeuvre. The analysis looks at the decisions of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) between 1990 and 2018. We conclude that the potential budgetary consequences of a decision do not weigh in with the judicial output. Furthermore, right-leaning courts are more likely to declare a law unconstitutional that was passed by a left-wing parliamentary majority, whereas left-wing courts adjudicate unconstitutionality with about roughly the same likelihood in the cases of right-and leftleaning parliaments. Our results highlight that while the Hungarian Constitutional Court does not narrow the parliamentary majority's room to manoeuvre by blocking policies with serious budgetary consequences, bloc-politics is still not alien from its functioning.

Research paper thumbnail of Impacts of Populism on the Party Systems

This paper investigates the influence populist parties exert on other political parties and the p... more This paper investigates the influence populist parties exert on other political parties and the party system. Undertaking a national qualitative case studies analysis, we tested four hypotheses: representation gap hypothesis (populist parties pursue a strategy that is designed to exploit gaps of representation by means of emphasizing new or revitalizing old conflicts); contagion hypothesis (the rise of populist parties is accompanied with an overall diffusion of populist ideas in the policy agenda of non-populist parties); polarization hypothesis (the rise of populist parties makes party systems more acutely polarised) and elective affinity coalition hypothesis (populist parties enter governing coalitions with other populist parties and also with non-populist parties if the latter also employ at least one of the typical themes of populist discourse, e.g., nationalist, nativist, anti-establishment, Eurosceptic themes). Results support the representation gap hypothesis: with the populists' electoral success, they represent new issues in parliament. Concerning the contagion hypothesis, case studies offered mixed results: in some countries contagion can be observed, while not in others. As for the polarization hypothesis, polarization was identified as a clear tendency.

Research paper thumbnail of Populist Parties in Contemporary Europe

Populism is the “40 is the new 30” of political research, buzzing for the last two decades with w... more Populism is the “40 is the new 30” of political research, buzzing for the last two decades with what seems as an unfading energy. A lot of attention has been paid to defining the phenomena and outlining its general features. Significantly less notice has been paid to political parties. Even less work has been done on comparative party populism in contemporary Europe, one that would take into consideration social, political and historical aspects. This paper fills this void. Examining sixteen European populist parties and movements across the continent, we argue that while all adhere to the standard populist framework, there is not one but four populisms in contemporary Europe. We demonstrate our argument by positioning the case selection against the following dichotomies: exclusionary v. inclusionary populism, authoritarian v. non-authoritarian populism, strong nativist v. weak nativist populism, and radical democratic v. conspiratorial populism. Based on these variables, we introdu...

Research paper thumbnail of Masking the Strangulation of Opposition Parties as Pandemic Response: Austerity Measures Targeting the Local Level in Hungary

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society

While a large literature studies the various tools of autocratic survival, targeting opposition a... more While a large literature studies the various tools of autocratic survival, targeting opposition actors with austerity measures in electoral autocracies is hitherto understudied. This paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a rare opportunity for Hungary’s Fidesz party to disarm opposition parties via cutting off resources of municipalities led by opposition mayors and eliminating any remnants of local governments’ fiscal autonomy. Analysing original data from government decrees on local transfers, this study contributes to the existing literature by conceptualising fiscal strangulation as part of electoral authoritarian regimes’ toolbox to discredit opposition parties and their ability to govern locally.

Research paper thumbnail of Mítosz és valóság. Mennyire korlátozta az Alkotmánybíróság a törvényhozás mozgásterét?

A magyar Alkotmánybíróság (AB) elmúlt több mint negyedszázados működése körül több olyan narratív... more A magyar Alkotmánybíróság (AB) elmúlt több mint negyedszázados működése körül több olyan narratíva is kialakult, amelyeknek egy részét a valóság visszaigazolja, mások azonban egyértelműen cáfolhatók. Jelen tanulmány egyik fő megállapítása az, hogy a magyar Alkotmánybíróság korántsem korlátozta olyan mértékben a törvényhozás mozgásterét, mint ahogy azt a róla kialakult kép alapján sokan gondolják. A JUDICON kutatási projekt adatbázisának elemzése alapján megállapíthatjuk, hogy a magyar Alkotmánybíróságra vonatkozó adatok belesimulni látszanak a régiós alkotmánybíróságokra vonatkozó adatokba, amennyiben a döntések erősségére, azaz arra fókuszálunk, hogy milyen mértékben korlátozták az alkotmánybíróságok a törvényhozás mozgásterét. Másrészről a döntések sokszínűsége tekintetében jelen tanulmány arra hívja fel a figyelmet, hogy a magyar Alkotmánybíróság már nagyon korán diverzifikálta a döntéseit és régiós összehasonlításban igencsak gyakran élt a klasszikusnak mondható döntéstípusokon túl kreatívabb eszközökkel is. Harmadrészt a vizsgált időszakban egyértelműen megfigyelhető egy polarizációs trend az Alkotmánybíróságon belül, amely megjelenik a különvélemények arányának folyamatos növekedésében, illetve az egyéni bírói viselkedés mintázataiban is.

Research paper thumbnail of Weak but Not Powerless

After the chaotic years of 1944-1945, the republic had been proclaimed by the Act I of 1946, whic... more After the chaotic years of 1944-1945, the republic had been proclaimed by the Act I of 1946, which had simultaneously pronounced that the head of state is the president of the republic, possessing brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk

Research paper thumbnail of Hogyan mérjük az alkotmánybírósági döntések erősségét?

Kivételként megemlítendő Bricker munkája, amely empirikus és szisztematikus módon vizsgálja négy ... more Kivételként megemlítendő Bricker munkája, amely empirikus és szisztematikus módon vizsgálja négy közép-európai alkotmánybíróság ítélkezési gyakorlatát. Lásd Bricker (2. lj.) 62. Ez a munka ugyanakkor olyan megközelítést választ, amely nem alkalmas arra, hogy megválaszolja kutatásunk alapkérdését (az alkotmánybíróságok milyen mértékben korlátozzák a törvényhozást?). Mivel Bricker pusztán az alkotmányosnak minősített, ill. az alkotmányellenesnek minősített, és ezáltal megsemmisített törvényhozási aktusok között tesz különbséget, a mi általunk feltett kutatási kérdésekre nem tud választ adni.

Research paper thumbnail of Courts Compared the Practice of Constitutional Adjudication in Central and Eastern Europe

Social Science Research Network, Sep 1, 2019

The country studies of the present volume have analysed Central European constitutional adjudicat... more The country studies of the present volume have analysed Central European constitutional adjudication from several perspectives, focusing on the data of individual countries to be able to say something about salient years or longitudinal trends in majority rulings, dissenting opinions, the role of the presidents, and diversity of ruling types or strength of judicial rulings in each country. In contrast to these country studies, this chapter deals with the ‘big picture’ by analysing the dataset comparatively and, at the end of the chapter, assessing the practice of constitutional adjudication in six countries in general. First, we compare briefly the proportion of relevant rulings and decisions in the six countries (Section 9.1). Second, we disclose the differences and similarities in the courts’ practice of selecting various ruling types (Section 9.2). Section 9.3 focuses on the distribution of strength values, while Section 9.4 presents the longitudinal trends in strength values compared. In the last section, we compare the six courts from the perspective of whether and how often they published dissenting opinions.

Research paper thumbnail of Populist Governance in Regional and Local Governments

Research paper thumbnail of Választási ígéretek és kormányzati teljesítés Magyarországon, 1990-2014

A Valasztasi igeretek es kormanyzati teljesites Magyarorszagon, 1990-2010 kutatasi projekt uttorő... more A Valasztasi igeretek es kormanyzati teljesites Magyarorszagon, 1990-2010 kutatasi projekt uttorő jellegű a magyar politikatudomanyban. Megvalosulasaval uj tudomanyos eredmenyeket varunk arrol, hogy milyen a kapcsolat a partok kampanyigeretei es a tenyleges kormanypolitika kozott, es – egy kesőbbi szakaszban – arrol is, hogy a kormanyok teljesitmenye hogyan hat a szavazoi viselkedesre. A kutatas eredmenyekeppen pontosabb kepet remelunk a kormanypolitika kiszamithatosagarol, a kormanyzast vegző politikai vezetők autonomiajarol, azaz arrol, hogy tevekenyseguk mennyiben koveti a valasztoi akaratot es mennyire van kiteve a szavazopolgarok ellenőrzesenek. E kerdesek megvalaszolasa segit abban, hogy tobbet tudjunk meg a demokracia, a mindenkori kormanypolitika es a kozpolitika minősegeről. A kutatasi projekt jelenlegi celja annak megallapitasa, hogy a magyarorszagi partok (1) mennyiben tesznek vilagos, szamon kerhető igereteket, (2) ezeket kormanyra kerulve mennyire teljesitik, es (3) milyen tenyezők befolyasoljak a valasztasi igeretek egyertelműseget es vegrehajtasat. A projekt nyilt, arra torekszik, hogy az igeretekkel kapcsolatos egyeb kutatasokat is osztonozzon. A fajlok tartalma: - leteti nyilatkozat - kodkonyv - Fidesz, MSZP, SZDSZ 2002-es lekodolt kampanyigereteinek adatbazisai (.sav) - MSZP es SZDSZ osszesitett adatbazis (.xlsx)

Research paper thumbnail of Hungary

The Routledge Handbook of Local Elections and Voting in Europe, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Regional Elections in Hungary: Second-Order Elections or Not?

Wie ist eine exakte Wissenschaft von der Literatur möglich? Wir wollen die Feinheit und Strenge d... more Wie ist eine exakte Wissenschaft von der Literatur möglich? Wir wollen die Feinheit und Strenge der Mathematik in alle Wissenschaften hineintragen, soweit es nur irgend möglich ist; nicht im Glauben, daß wir auf diesem Wege die Dinge erkennen werden, sondern um damit unsere menschliche Relation zu den Dingen festzustellen. Nietzsche, Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (Abschnitt III, 246) 1 1. Eine Begegnung Im Nachhinein neigen wir alle dazu, in den Mäandern des eigenen Lebens einen gewissen inneren Zusammenhang zu sehen: man entscheidet sich, dies oder jenes zu studieren, diesen oder jenen Beruf zu ergreifen, mit diesem oder jenem Menschen zusammenzusein, und wo die Entscheidung nicht selbst getroffen war, da war es doch oft genug eine höhere Hand, die den Gang der Dinge so gelenkt hat, daß sie eine Ordnung, vielleicht gar eine gewisse Harmonie zeigen: werde, was Du bist. In Wirklichkeit scheint mir das Leben eine Kette von Zufällen; nichts ist ohne Grund, aber alles, oder doch fast alles, hätte auch anders sein können. Als ich im Frühjahr 1965 in Saarbrücken das Studium aufnehmen wollte, lag zwischen Abitur und Ablauf der Immatrikulationsfrist nur ein Tag, wenig Zeit zu reiflicher Überlegung am Kreuzweg. Ich wollte entweder die Philologien studieren, dies aus Liebe zur Literatur, oder Mathematik, dies aus Liebe zur reinsten aller Wissenschaften, zu jener, die man, da am wenigsten von empirischen Beimengungen berührt, die eigentliche Geisteswissenschaft nennen muß. Anders als Buridans Esel hat der Mensch die Möglichkeit, das Los zu werfen, und in meinem Fall hat es für die Literatur gesprochen. So habe ich Germanistik und Romanistik studiert, immer mit dem Hintergedanken, daß sich der Geist der reinen Wissenschaft auch in diesen finden ließe. Die Erfahrung der beiden ersten Semester hat dem nicht in jeder Hinsicht entsprochen. Die wissenschaftliche Beschäftigung mit der Literatur war damals ungemein bereichernd, was die Vermehrung des Wissens angeht: die Lehrer jener Jahre haben gnadenlos auf Faktenkenntnis geachtet. Um August Lan-Dies ist das Zitat eines Zitats eines Zitats: Ich zitiere hier das Ende von Helmut Kreuzers Einleitung zu Mathematik und Dichtung, in der er seinen Freund und Mitherausgeber Rul Gunzenhäuser zitiert, der Friedrich Nietzsche zitiert.

Research paper thumbnail of Changing Local Relations: Effects of Political and Administrative Reforms in Hungary DRAFT: PLEASE DO NOT CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION

The study focuses on the reforms of the Hungarian local government between 2010 and 2014. After i... more The study focuses on the reforms of the Hungarian local government between 2010 and 2014. After its overwhelming national electoral success in 2010, the right-wing party Fidesz altered the Hungarian political system in many aspects. Numerous provisions affected also the sub-national (middle and local level) political institutions. On the one hand, the local electoral reform in 2010 resulted in a shift of the political relations within the subnational governments, as the new electoral rules made possible for the stronger political actors (typically the national parties) to become more dominant over the weaker participants of the local politics (typically the civil organizations). On the other hand, the administrative reforms between 2011 and 2014 changed the daily operation of the local governments: the Fidesz cabinet modified the system of finance and tasks on local level, strengthened the position of the state’s agencies and administrative institutions, while limited the activity o...

Research paper thumbnail of The Hungarian Constitutional Court

Constitutional Politics and the Judiciary, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Elmozdulás középszinten: A 2010-es önkormányzati választási reform hatásai a megyei önkormányzatokra

A választási szabályok mindig meghatározó tényezői egy politikai rendszernek: üzenetet hordoznak ... more A választási szabályok mindig meghatározó tényezői egy politikai rendszernek: üzenetet hordoznak arról, hogy a törvényalkotók milyen elveket kívánnak érvényesíteni az adott rendszer kapcsán, és meghatározzák, hogy a rendszer mely elemei válhatnak hangsúlyossá. Nincs ez másként a magyar önkormányzati rendszer esetében sem. 1990-ben, a rendszer kialakításakor kiemelt jelentőséggel bírt a helyi viszonyok és a nagypolitika együttes megjelenítésének igénye, mely a választási törvényen keresztül települési és megyei szinten is érvényesült. A tanulmány megkísérli bemutatni, hogy a 2010-es választási reform (egy látszólag apró módosítással) miként változtatta meg alapjaiban a választott középszint, a megyei önkormányzatok politikai viszonyait. Az elemzés megvilágítja, hogy a 10 000 fős és alatti, illetve 10 000 fő feletti népességű települések választókerületeinek összevonása miként távolítja el a megyét a helyi társadalomtól, és intézményesíti az országos pártok középszintű hegemóniáját.

Research paper thumbnail of Területi változások helyi szinten : Az önkormányzati különválások környezeti és politikai tényezői

Politikatudományi szemle, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Dissenting Coalitions at the Hungarian Constitutional Court 1990–2018

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

Our study aims to give a general account of the relation between the judges’ political background... more Our study aims to give a general account of the relation between the judges’ political background and their behavior in the different institutional and political settings that determined the functioning of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) between 1990 and 2018. We intend to explore whether political background might have a role in determining whether a judge joins the majority or dissents. Based on a network analysis, our results suggest that considering the three periods of the HCC, political background was a determining factor already before 2010 even in the case of judges elected by a political compromise. First, our study describes the applicability of a slightly modified version of the attitudinal approach that suggests that judicial behavior is influenced by political background; then it moves to the methodology that allows for quantifying the CCs’ decisions regarding their strength and the role of dissenting opinions, as well as determining judges’ coalitions by adopting network analysis. Second, we analyze judicial behavior and coalitions to give an account for a periodization of the practice of the HCC since 1990 and draw a map of networks determined by judges’ political background.