Return to Europe. Reflections after 20 Years of Democratic Renewal

This report offers a reflection on the state of democracy in Hungary twenty years after the change of regime. It examines the democratic transition using material from an opinion poll and an accompanying focus group. The second part investigates the institutional setup and the internal mechanisms of Hungary’s democracy promotion activities, identifying the main governmental and non-governmental players involved. Drawing on expert interviews, some of current conceptual and practical challenges are discussed. The conclusion assesses the findings of both the public survey and the expert interviews and offers a synthesis and policy implications. This research is part of a comparative study led by the Policy Association for an Open Society, comparing public attitudes towards democracy and democracy promotion in the four Visegrád countries. 1 This research has been conducted under the auspices of the Policy Association for an Open Society (PASOS) and was funded by the Education,