ABSTRACT
This article introduces 20 years of parliament-citizen connections in Hungary,
from 1990 to 2010. Our approach and main argument is that parliament-
citizen connections are conditioned by the political system per se – that is,
parliament-citizen connections are a window on the political system. Parlia-
ment-citizen connections depend on how key representative institutions –
parties, electoral system and parliament itself – channel these connections. At
the same time direct democracy measures also have to be considered. For
example, referendum initiatives or popular proposals that intend to affect parlia-
ment’s work or legislative decisions also constitute parliament-citizen connec-
tions. Altogether, the analysis of this connection covers diverse fields – within
and outside the representative institutions. The Hungarian case offers an
additional systemic question to consider. What is the potential impact of the
former, pre-1990, communist regime on this connection and could any tendencies
in parallel with the democratisation and consolidation process be observed?
