Overview
The research examines how the social and psychological consequences of propaganda can be addressed within a democratic framework. It draws on international experiences of transitional justice following regime changes, as well as on established practices of victim support. These approaches provide tools for acknowledging past harms, addressing questions of responsibility, identifying possible avenues of redress, and preventing the recurrence of similar abuses.
The project investigates the functioning of the propaganda apparatus of the Orbán regime and its social, psychological, and communal consequences, including politically motivated stigmatization, exclusion, chronic anxiety, and the erosion of trust in public institutions. A key component of the research is the documentation of the experiences of affected groups, including the harms they have suffered and their present needs. The project combines quantitative and qualitative social research, interviews and oral history documentation, media and discourse analyses, as well as legal and public policy analysis.
In the next phase, the research findings will be translated into recommendations. Based on the identified patterns and documented experiences, the initiative will develop proposals at two levels. First, it will formulate recommendations for institutional, legal, and public policy measures aimed at strengthening protection against politically organized stigmatization and discrimination. Second, at the practical level, it will focus on victim support and reparative measures by collecting, systematizing, and developing implementable tools and interventions.
The recommendations will serve as the basis for educational and training programs, accompanied by psychological and community-based support mechanisms to facilitate implementation. The initiative brings together professors and students from several ELTE faculties and establishes a practice-oriented framework that supports both confronting the authoritarian past and sustaining a democratic public sphere. The ultimate goal is to contribute, through reconciliation, to the rebuilding of a democratic community in which equal citizenship is no longer dependent upon political loyalty.
Research group members
Faculty members
Lilla FARKAS, co-leader of the research group (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Balázs MAJTÉNYI, co-leader of the research group (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Ildikó BARNA (Department of Social Research Methodology, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Eszter BERÉNYI (Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Márton GERŐ (Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Halmai Gábor (professor emeritus, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Péter KÁLLAI (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Ágnes KOVÁCS (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Kriszta KOVÁCS (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Zsolt KÖRTVÉLYESI (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Laura KROMJÁK (Department of Global and Development Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Alíz NAGY (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Eszter PÁL (Department of Social Theory, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Andrew Richard RYDER (Department of International Relations and European Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Orsolya SALÁT (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Domonkos SIK (Department of Social Theory, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
David SIMON (Department of Statisics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Erzsébet TAKÁCS (Department of Social Theory, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Anna UJLAKI (Department of Human Rights and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
Júlia VAJDA (Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary)
External members
Keywords
transitional justice, political stigmatization, public sphere, reconciliation, democratization
Contact information (leader)
Lilla FARKAS (co-leader)
Department of Human Rights and Politics
Faculty of Social Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest (ELTE)
farkas.lilla@tatk.elte.hu
Balázs MAJTÉNYI (co-leader)
Department of Human Rights and Politics
Faculty of Social Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest (ELTE)
majtenyi.balazs@tatk.elte.hu