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Masking the Strangulation of Opposition Parties as Pandemic Response: Austerity Measures Targeting the Local Level in Hungary

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  • Daniel Kovarek
  • Gábor Dobos

Abstract

While a large literature studies the various tools of autocratic survival, targeting opposition actors with austerity measures in electoral autocracies is hitherto understudied. This paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a rare opportunity for Hungary’s Fidesz party to disarm opposition parties via cutting off resources of municipalities led by opposition mayors and eliminating any remnants of local governments’ fiscal autonomy. Analysing original data from government decrees on local transfers, this study contributes to the existing literature by conceptualising fiscal strangulation as part of electoral authoritarian regimes’ toolbox to discredit opposition parties and their ability to govern locally.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Kovarek & Gábor Dobos, 2023. "Masking the Strangulation of Opposition Parties as Pandemic Response: Austerity Measures Targeting the Local Level in Hungary," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(1), pages 105-117.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cjrecs:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:105-117.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stephen Hall & Andrew E. G. Jonas, 2014. "Urban fiscal austerity, infrastructure provision and the struggle for regional transit in ‘Motor City’," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 7(1), pages 189-206.
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    3. Federico Vegetti, 2019. "The Political Nature of Ideological Polarization: The Case of Hungary," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 681(1), pages 78-96, January.
    4. Gerschewski, Johannes, 2013. "The three pillars of stability: legitimation, repression, and co-optation in autocratic regimes," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 20(1), pages 13-38.
    5. Gandhi,Jennifer, 2008. "Political Institutions under Dictatorship," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521897952, November.
    6. Green, Daniel & Loualiche, Erik, 2021. "State and local government employment in the COVID-19 crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Vasvári, Tamás & Pocsai, Erzsébet, 2024. "Kontrollok az önkormányzati hitelezésben - az elmúlt évtized tanulságai [Controls in municipal borrowing in Hungary - A decade of experience]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 881-914.

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