Illiberalism and the Deinstitutionalization of Public Diplomacy
The Rise of Hungary and Viktor Orbán in American Conservative Media
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13106904 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Carla Cabrera-Cuadrado (0000-0002-9631-3938, Georgetown University, corresponding author), John Chrobak (0000-0003-1036-9410, George Washington University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Pages | 311-324 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Communication & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2386-7876 • E-ISSN: 2386-7876 |
| Publisher | Universidad de Navarra (PUBLISHER • ES) |
| DOI | 10.15581/003.36.2.311-324 |
| OpenAlex | W4362555435 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 18 |
The promotion of Hungary and Viktor Orbán among American conservatives is often presented as a warning of conservative embrace of illiberal politics. While acknowledging the draw of Hungary’s illiberal policies as the motivating factor for American conservative interest in Hungary, our focus seeks to answer to what extent this embrace of Hungary can be considered a form of public diplomacy. We examined the frequency and substance of mentions of Hungary and Viktor Orbán in 1643 articles within 13 American conservative media outlets to track how the narrative around the country and the prime minister has evolved over the past four years, bearing in mind the impact of Tucker Carlson’s interview with Viktor Orbán in late 2021. We found both an increase in the quantity of articles focused on Hungary and Viktor Orbán as well as a largely positive trend defending and praising the policies of Hungary and the prime minister. We also observed a strong focus on Orbán as the primary actor of Hungarian public diplomacy and argue that this hyper-presidentialized focus exemplifies the deinstitutionalization of public diplomacy, along with other elements that contribute to the enhancement of Orbán as an individual public diplomacy actor
Diplomacy · Literature · Narrative · Orb (optics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Promotion (chess · Public Diplomacy · Sociology · European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Security, Politics, and Digital Transformation
The Rise of Illiberal Democracy
The Illiberal Turn or Swerve in Central Europe
Thinking about Latin American public diplomacy
Sport as a tool for public diplomacy in Hungary
Making Sense of Citizen Diplomats
Constructing Hungarian ‘good-will ambassadors’
The ideational foundations of the illiberal backlash in Central and Eastern Europe
The New Diplomacy
The gendered modus operandi of the illiberal transformation in Hungary and Poland
Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? Economic Woes and Political Disaffection
Can the EU Stop Eastern Europe's Illiberal Turn
Soft power
Hungary’s Illiberal Turn
Hungary’s Illiberal Turn
Illiberalism
Caesarean politics in Hungary and Poland
Understanding the illiberal turn
Illiberal thought collectives and policy networks in Hungary and Poland
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |