From elite consensus to asymmetric polarisation: Lessons learnt from the Hungarian case

The paper aims to analyse the process of how the consensually unified elite around systemic change has transformed in Hungary and the possible outcomes of this transformation. It will follow up the steps of the process focusing both on the national and the international scene . Consensually unified elites are the requisites of democracies and with the end of the consensus substantive aspects of democracy have been challenged. The disunification of the elite has led to asymmetric polarisation in the political and media fields which was associated with the downsizing of democratic institutions. While the polarisation of these fields has an internal time dynamic they are fundamentally interconnected. We understand asymmetric polarisation as the dominance of one of the polarised sides. The paper will investigate the institutional and ideological characteristics of this model and its geopolitical correlates with special regard to the position within the European Union. In the conclusion we aim to answer a theoretically based question on the potential outcomes of this development.