Gabor Scheiring, PhD
Political Economist, Public Sociologist
Jungle World: "Fidesz always represents Hungarian capital" (Interview)
Jan 15, 2021
"The government of Viktor Orban favors its close entrepreneurs, but its policies also benefit foreign investors. This is one of the reasons why the EU is reluctant to impose sanctions. The EU payments will benefit not only Orban's friends but ultimately all capitalists in Hungary. Orban knows that as long as he makes foreign companies happy and brings money to Western Europe, he will also get away with destroying democracy."
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Read the interview here (in German).
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Los Angeles Review of Books: Hybrid Authoritarianism (book review)
Jan 14, 2021
"Over the past decade, Hungary has become a classic case in the debate over illiberal democracy- even more recently with the rise of figures such as Matteo Salvini, Donald Trump, or Jair Bolsonaro on the international political scene. Around this theme was born this dialogue with Gábor Scheiring, former opposition MP in Hungary, sociologist (Ph.D., Cambridge) and researcher at Bocconi University."
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Alterhink.it: Hungary and Illiberal Democracy: Interview with Gábor Scheiring (Interview)
Dec 16, 2020
"Over the past decade, Hungary has become a classic case in the debate over illiberal democracy- even more recently with the rise of figures such as Matteo Salvini, Donald Trump, or Jair Bolsonaro on the international political scene. Around this theme was born this dialogue with Gábor Scheiring, former opposition MP in Hungary, sociologist (Ph.D., Cambridge) and researcher at Bocconi University."
Read the interview here (in Italian).
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NRC Handelsblad: Is Merkel going to avert an EU crisis with an inlay?
Dec 9, 2020
"A compromise works if you want to work within the same values," says Scheiring, who is a political economist at the Italian University of Bocconi and who in the past served as an opposition politician in the Hungarian parliament. "But Orbán changed the game. And it has taken a long time for European politicians to get through."
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Read the article here (in Dutch).
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Green European Journal: National Capitalism in Orbán’s Hungary (Interview)
Dec 8, 2020
"Behind the veneer of economic nationalism, Hungary is one of the breeding grounds of a new incarnation of neoliberalism. We spoke with sociologist Gábor Scheiring, a founder and former MP of the Hungarian Green Party LMP (Politics Can be Different) about his new book The Retreat of Liberal Democracy: Authoritarian Capitalism and the Accumulative State in Hungary."
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Read the interview here or here in pdf.
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El Pais: Poland, Hungary against European budgets
Nov 26, 2020
Prime Ministers Morawiecki and Orbán close ranks on their respective countries' veto of Community funds, but show possible avenues of exit to unlock the money. "The government's position does not reflect the whole of Hungary," analyst Gabor Scheiring says by phone. He warns: "In the short term, Orbán may not need an injection of money like Spain or Italy, because the Hungarian economy is in better health, but in the long run the picture can be complicated."
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Read the article here (in Spanish).
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Emerging-Europe: Authoritarian governments: How much do investors care?
Oct 19, 2020
One of the most common misconceptions regarding authoritarian regimes is the widespread belief that they are opposed by business. The notion that authoritarian leaders are anti-business populists against economic liberalisation and globalisation is, indeed, very far from reality. In contrast, a thorough analysis of authoritarian policies reveals that transnational corporations and business leaders at times become strongholds of the electoral base supporting such leaders.
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Bocconi Knowledge: Life Experience, Science and Passion: Europe Funds New Research on Health and Populism
April 27, 2020
Gabor Scheiring has been an activist, a member of the Hungarian Parliament, and the shadow minister of finance before completing his Ph.D. at Cambridge. Now a postdoc researcher at Bocconi, he has obtained a Marie Curie fellowship to study the relationship between economic change, public health, and populism.
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Népszava: „A demokrácia csak ott működÅ‘képes, ahol osztálykompromisszumra épül”
Dec 28, 2019
Scheiring Gábor „Egy demokrácia halála” címmel könyvet írt az Orbán-rendszerrÅ‘l. A kötet új definíciót ad a rezsimrÅ‘l, miközben annak társadalmi hátterét is újrarajzolja.
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Read the interview here (in Hungarian).
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The Week: Hungary's 'illiberal democracy'
April 22, 2018
Viktor Orban is leading Hungary away from the rule of law and human rights — but with popular support. How? Here's everything you need to know.
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Foreign Policy in Focus: Making Green Cool Again in Hungary
May 22, 2015
Reuters: Hungarians protest against PM outside parliament
May 22, 2015
Opposition MPs chained themselves to parliament barrier. Ruling Fidesz party passes laws on elections and economy. IMF/EU talks in limbo: new deal key to market confidence.
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Eurozine: Europe's Periphery
Jan 24, 2011
The decimation of indigenous industry in central and eastern Europe has created a low-wage hinterland on the fringes of the highly developed core, writes Carl Rowlands. If the societies of central-eastern Europe are indeed in transition, it is very unclear what the destination will be.
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The Economist: Election season in central Europe
Crossed words
April 8, 2010
This year sees elections in many countries in central Europe. The results may not change all that much. (An article that clearly misunderstood Hungarian politics.)
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