ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the elements and possible reasons for Hungary's recent transition from a liberal to an illiberal system and explains both the unique and the more typical features of this change. It discusses the characteristics of the constitution-making process both in 1989 and in 2010. The characteristic of system change that Hungary shared with other transitioning countries was that it had to establish an independent nation-state, a civil society, a private economy, and a democratic structure all at the same time. Revolutionary constitutions – exemplified by the models of the American and French Revolutions – establish an entirely new order rather than merely constraining the reigning power in place. The current Hungarian constitutional system constitutes a new, hybrid type of regime, between a full-fledged democracy and a dictatorship. The described democratic backsliding in Hungary demonstrates that the institutional framework is a necessary but not sufficient element of a successful democratization.
