Born in post-Socialist Hungary, I have always been interested in the differences of the regimes in the region’s seemingly similar countries. As Hungary began shifting from deficient democracy to an increasingly authoritarian regime under Viktor Orbán, I decided to pursue this interest professionally/academically, completing a BA and then MA in political economy at King’s.
My main focuses were comparative transitology, applying hybridisation-theory to study “flawed democracies”, and using qualitative methods for comparative analyses. I found the interdisciplinary and innovative environment of the Department of Political Economy perfect for my PhD. My primarily interest is developing an analytical framework that uses participant observation and can be used to grasp a deeper understanding of not only Hungary, but other hybrid regimes as well, moving beyond surface-level studies based on paradigmatic regime-typologies.

Research interests

• Comparative politics
• Hybrid regimes
• Post-socialism
• Qualitative methods

Teaching

• Comparing Political Systems
• Comparative Social Policy

PhD research

My aim is to research the perspectives of internally transforming hybrid political regimes. Specifically, whether initially extra-parliamentary, anti-establishment political entities can contribute to democratic transformation, or their addition to the political field further fragments regime opposition, prolonging hybrid-regimes’ consolidation. As a unique case study, I intend to conduct an ethnographic study of the Magyar Kétfarkú Kutyapárt (Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party – MKKP), originally a satirical “joke party” that gained momentum after the establishment of the Orbán-regime in 2010, having transformed into a more serious entity with explicit political intentions and increasing popular support and influence over the considerably restricted Hungarian political landscape.

Supervisors 

• Professor Sarah Birch
• Dr Anna Gwiazda

Publications

Horváth, Kristóf. 2019. Hajléktalantörvény – Mi történt, miért, hogyan? Pannonhalmi Szemle 27.4:44-58