Analyzing transformations in Romania & Hungary this article shows that neoliberalism is not over, just changing, leading to national-neoliberalism. Abstract Has a post-neoliberal policy regime emerged from the challenges to neoliberalism that have accompanied the rise of nationalism and populism in some Eastern and Central European countries? Why has the political organization of these challenges to neoliberalism endured in some countries but not in others? By drawing on a mi

Dependency theory is back! It's so great to see this book and my chapter on dependency just published. In 2019, dependency theory celebrated its 50th birthday: Cardoso & Faletto's classic, Dependency and Development, had been published in 1969 originally, and in 1979 in English - the same year as Peter Evans' book, Dependent development, had come out, who wrote a blazing endorsement of this new book. On this occasion, Aldo Madariaga and Stefano Palestini organized an internat

Abstract An unprecedented mortality crisis struck Eastern Europe during the transition from socialism to capitalism. Working-class men without a college degree suffered the most. Some argue that economic dislocation caused stress and despair, leading to adverse health behavior and ill health (dislocation-despair approach). Others suggest that hazardous drinking inherited as part of a dysfunctional working-class culture and populist alcohol policy were the key determinants (su

The article conceptualises Hungary's neo-nationalist turn as a Polanyian countermovement against globalisation and deindustrialisation.

Abstract The ten countries with the fastest shrinking population are all located in Eastern Europe, with low fertility as one of the leading causes. In this article, we analyze the privatization of companies as a potential but so far neglected factor behind the postsocialist fertility decline. We argue that privatization is linked to lower fertility by catalyzing uncertainty, shifting the cost of care work onto families, and reducing the resources available to support social

Deindustrialization and deaths of despair: mapping the impact of industrial decline on ill health A growing literature on deaths of despair has argued that workers' declining life expectancy in deindustrialized rustbelt areas in the U.S. and the associated deepening of health inequalities signal the profound existential crisis of contemporary capitalism. Competing explanations downplay the negative consequences of "creative destruction" and focus instead on unhealthy lifestyl

G. Scheiring and M. Veres: in Europa Publications (ed.) Central and South-Eastern Europe Abstract The results of Hungary’s transformation from a state-run economy into a market-based model are mixed at best. On the positive side, except in times of global recession, the country’s economy was able to expand continuously over the past 30 years, while domestic businesses integrated successfully into the global economy. Hungary was able to establish strong commercial ties with th

Transcending disciplinary boundaries, the book provides a fresh answer to a simple & profound question: why has liberal democracy retreated?

Relying on Polanyi & Gramsci, the article analyses the socio-economic roots of illiberal populism in Hungary.

Most analysts describe Orbanomics as anti-liberal anti-business policies only serving the interests of the political elite and loyal oligarchs. However, this is a misunderstanding. A wide segment of domestic and transnational elites benefit. Orban’s regime has a socio-economic logic that can only be understood in the context of economic globalisation. Orbanomics is a faulty and polarising answer to the crisis of Hungary’s post-1990 liberal dependent economic model. The long-t

This analysis explains the political-economic logic of Orbanomics.

To understand the emergence, stability of Orbán's illiberal regime, this article digs into the contradictions of postsocialist liberalism.

Theis article - co-authored by Kristóf Szombati - presents and empirically substantiates a theoretical account explaining the making and stabilisation of illiberal hegemony in Hungary. It combines a Polanyian institutionalist framework with a neo-Gramscian analysis of right-wing hegemonic strategy and a relational class analysis inspired by the political economy tradition in anthropology. The article identifies the social actors behind the illiberal transformation, showing ho

Non-technical summary of the Privatisation and Mortality project that analyzed the political economy of the postsocialist mortality crisis.

Abstract: An unprecedented mortality crisis befell the former socialist countries between 1989 and 1995, representing one of the most significant demographic shocks of the post-Second World War period. Academic research has identified economic transitions as a crucial factor behind the post-socialist mortality crisis. However, most previous studies relied on either country-level or individual-level data, which leaves the potential for modeling error, as they cannot assess bot

What are the economic roots Hungary's authoritarian turn, and how could we conceptualise the post-2010 regime?

Abstract An unprecedented mortality crisis befell the former socialist countries between 1989 and 1995, representing one of the greatest demographic shocks of the period after the Second World War. While it is likely that country-level variation in the post-socialist mortality crisis in Eastern Europe can be explained by a constellation of political and socio-economic factors, no comprehensive review of the existing scholarly attempts at explaining these factors exists. We re

We review 39 cross-national multi-variable peer reviewed studies of social determinants of mortality in post-socialist Europe.

Abstract: Hungary was once praised as an example of successful democratisation and EU integration, but now has joined the ranks of ‘liberal’ nations backsliding into authoritarianism. Many commentators blame Orbán and his anti-migrant, anti-EU populist rhetoric, but ignore the underlying causes in particular the failings of market reforms in the country, high unemployment, low wages, spiraling household debts, and a nationalist capitalist class resentful of the advantages giv

To understand the emergence of authoritarian capitalism in Hungary, this paper digs into the contradictions of liberal economic policies.

The study calculates population attributable risk fraction (PARF) of cancer deaths from smoking and alcohol in Russia, Belarus and Hungary.

Prolonged state ownership was associated with protection of life chances during the post-socialist transformation for women.

Eastern Europe underwent dramatic economic and demographic changes in recent history with skyrocketing mortality rates in the 1990s.

The rapid pace of privatisation was a significant factor in the marked increase in working-age male mortality in post-Soviet Russia.