Both conservative and progressive thinkers in the US have pondered if the future of the Republican Party will reflect the qualities of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The rapport between Orbán and certain Republicans likely began in 2016 when he, the sole EU head of state to do so, supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Since then, popular political commentator Tucker Carlson visited Orbán, and in 2022, the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) held its first Europe-based event in Hungary and has since invited Orbán to speak at another CPAC event. In April of 2022, concerns over Hungary's rule of law violations finally coalesced into the EU triggering its rule of law mechanism against Hungary. With allegations from scholars and political commentators over whether American conservatives will follow - or have already followed - in Orbán's footsteps, democratic backsliding in the US is a major concern. Due to the level of media coverage Orbán receives in the US, this thesis draws on qualitative content analysis and Framing Theory to analyze how online media coverage of Orbán's Hungary has developed since 2011, which is when Hungary's "Basic Law" was passed by the parliament, initiating charges of democratic backsliding. The research questions are as follows: What aspects of Hungarian politics have online media on the Left and Right focused on between 2011-2021 in the United States? Has coverage of Orbán's Hungary become more partisan in this period, in terms of how it is covered and how favorable or critical the media is toward Orbán? Findings show the main themes relate to democracy, migration, and LGBTQI+ rights. Findings also suggest the coverage of LGBTQI+ rights is consistently partisan and coverage of migration issues has become increasingly partisan since 2018. Coverage of democracy is consistently critical on the Left, but on the Right there is debate over whether Orbán should be embraced due to his conservative policies, or if his consolidation of power and democratic backsliding are too omnipresent to forget.
Annotation in English
Both conservative and progressive thinkers in the US have pondered if the future of the Republican Party will reflect the qualities of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The rapport between Orbán and certain Republicans likely began in 2016 when he, the sole EU head of state to do so, supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Since then, popular political commentator Tucker Carlson visited Orbán, and in 2022, the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) held its first Europe-based event in Hungary and has since invited Orbán to speak at another CPAC event. In April of 2022, concerns over Hungary's rule of law violations finally coalesced into the EU triggering its rule of law mechanism against Hungary. With allegations from scholars and political commentators over whether American conservatives will follow - or have already followed - in Orbán's footsteps, democratic backsliding in the US is a major concern. Due to the level of media coverage Orbán receives in the US, this thesis draws on qualitative content analysis and Framing Theory to analyze how online media coverage of Orbán's Hungary has developed since 2011, which is when Hungary's "Basic Law" was passed by the parliament, initiating charges of democratic backsliding. The research questions are as follows: What aspects of Hungarian politics have online media on the Left and Right focused on between 2011-2021 in the United States? Has coverage of Orbán's Hungary become more partisan in this period, in terms of how it is covered and how favorable or critical the media is toward Orbán? Findings show the main themes relate to democracy, migration, and LGBTQI+ rights. Findings also suggest the coverage of LGBTQI+ rights is consistently partisan and coverage of migration issues has become increasingly partisan since 2018. Coverage of democracy is consistently critical on the Left, but on the Right there is debate over whether Orbán should be embraced due to his conservative policies, or if his consolidation of power and democratic backsliding are too omnipresent to forget.
Keywords
Viktor Orbán, Democracy, Democratic Backsliding, American Conservatives, Media Analysis, US Partisan Media.
Keywords in English
Viktor Orbán, Democracy, Democratic Backsliding, American Conservatives, Media Analysis, US Partisan Media.
Length of the covering note
89
Language
AN
Annotation
Both conservative and progressive thinkers in the US have pondered if the future of the Republican Party will reflect the qualities of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The rapport between Orbán and certain Republicans likely began in 2016 when he, the sole EU head of state to do so, supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Since then, popular political commentator Tucker Carlson visited Orbán, and in 2022, the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) held its first Europe-based event in Hungary and has since invited Orbán to speak at another CPAC event. In April of 2022, concerns over Hungary's rule of law violations finally coalesced into the EU triggering its rule of law mechanism against Hungary. With allegations from scholars and political commentators over whether American conservatives will follow - or have already followed - in Orbán's footsteps, democratic backsliding in the US is a major concern. Due to the level of media coverage Orbán receives in the US, this thesis draws on qualitative content analysis and Framing Theory to analyze how online media coverage of Orbán's Hungary has developed since 2011, which is when Hungary's "Basic Law" was passed by the parliament, initiating charges of democratic backsliding. The research questions are as follows: What aspects of Hungarian politics have online media on the Left and Right focused on between 2011-2021 in the United States? Has coverage of Orbán's Hungary become more partisan in this period, in terms of how it is covered and how favorable or critical the media is toward Orbán? Findings show the main themes relate to democracy, migration, and LGBTQI+ rights. Findings also suggest the coverage of LGBTQI+ rights is consistently partisan and coverage of migration issues has become increasingly partisan since 2018. Coverage of democracy is consistently critical on the Left, but on the Right there is debate over whether Orbán should be embraced due to his conservative policies, or if his consolidation of power and democratic backsliding are too omnipresent to forget.
Annotation in English
Both conservative and progressive thinkers in the US have pondered if the future of the Republican Party will reflect the qualities of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The rapport between Orbán and certain Republicans likely began in 2016 when he, the sole EU head of state to do so, supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Since then, popular political commentator Tucker Carlson visited Orbán, and in 2022, the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) held its first Europe-based event in Hungary and has since invited Orbán to speak at another CPAC event. In April of 2022, concerns over Hungary's rule of law violations finally coalesced into the EU triggering its rule of law mechanism against Hungary. With allegations from scholars and political commentators over whether American conservatives will follow - or have already followed - in Orbán's footsteps, democratic backsliding in the US is a major concern. Due to the level of media coverage Orbán receives in the US, this thesis draws on qualitative content analysis and Framing Theory to analyze how online media coverage of Orbán's Hungary has developed since 2011, which is when Hungary's "Basic Law" was passed by the parliament, initiating charges of democratic backsliding. The research questions are as follows: What aspects of Hungarian politics have online media on the Left and Right focused on between 2011-2021 in the United States? Has coverage of Orbán's Hungary become more partisan in this period, in terms of how it is covered and how favorable or critical the media is toward Orbán? Findings show the main themes relate to democracy, migration, and LGBTQI+ rights. Findings also suggest the coverage of LGBTQI+ rights is consistently partisan and coverage of migration issues has become increasingly partisan since 2018. Coverage of democracy is consistently critical on the Left, but on the Right there is debate over whether Orbán should be embraced due to his conservative policies, or if his consolidation of power and democratic backsliding are too omnipresent to forget.
Keywords
Viktor Orbán, Democracy, Democratic Backsliding, American Conservatives, Media Analysis, US Partisan Media.
Keywords in English
Viktor Orbán, Democracy, Democratic Backsliding, American Conservatives, Media Analysis, US Partisan Media.
Research Plan
This 20,000 – 30,000 word thesis will be organized as follows: 1. Introduction 2. The US and Hungary – This chapter will provide necessary background of the US and Hungary, their relationship, and the background of key developments which occurred from 2011-2021. 3. Literature Review – In this chapter I will provide an overview of media bias in the US and how the media sources I have chosen fit within the political spectrum; A review of recent literature with compare media outlets, similar to my study; and review of studies which reflect on Hungarian identity and how this fits within the EU, as well as how Hungary’s legal history with the EU until now, including court cases. 4. Theoretical Framework – This chapter will explain the frameworks of framing theory and agenda setting, how they developed, and how they apply to my research. 5. Methodology – this section will provide a detail explanation of the chosen methodology such as timeframe, search terms, coding process, and coding software. 6. Analysis – Examine the data and provide the list of charts which visualize the data. 7. Findings and implications – This chapter will detail the key findings and why this research matters to researchers and potentially the general public. 8. Conclusion and recommendations for further research
Research Plan
This 20,000 – 30,000 word thesis will be organized as follows: 1. Introduction 2. The US and Hungary – This chapter will provide necessary background of the US and Hungary, their relationship, and the background of key developments which occurred from 2011-2021. 3. Literature Review – In this chapter I will provide an overview of media bias in the US and how the media sources I have chosen fit within the political spectrum; A review of recent literature with compare media outlets, similar to my study; and review of studies which reflect on Hungarian identity and how this fits within the EU, as well as how Hungary’s legal history with the EU until now, including court cases. 4. Theoretical Framework – This chapter will explain the frameworks of framing theory and agenda setting, how they developed, and how they apply to my research. 5. Methodology – this section will provide a detail explanation of the chosen methodology such as timeframe, search terms, coding process, and coding software. 6. Analysis – Examine the data and provide the list of charts which visualize the data. 7. Findings and implications – This chapter will detail the key findings and why this research matters to researchers and potentially the general public. 8. Conclusion and recommendations for further research
Recommended resources
Amnon Cavari, Moran Yarchi, and Shira Pindyck. 2017. "Foreign News on US Media: A Longitudinal Analysis of News Coverage of Israel.” Israel Studies 22 (1): 24. https://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.22.1.02. Budak, Ceren, Sharad Goel, and Justin M. Rao. "Fair and Balanced? Quantifying Media Bias through Crowdsourced Content Analysis,” Public Opinion Quarterly 80, no. S1 (2016): 250-271. Dougherty, Michael Brendan. "Hungary: An Overweighted Symbol.” National Review, August 4, 2021. Accessed September 14, 2021. https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/hungary-an-overweighted-symbol/. Entman, Robert M. "Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of Power.” Journal of Communication 57, no. 1 (March 2007): 163–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00336.x. McCombs, Maxwell E., and Donald L. Shaw. "The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media.” Public Opinion Quarterly 36, no. 2 (1972): 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990.
Recommended resources
Amnon Cavari, Moran Yarchi, and Shira Pindyck. 2017. "Foreign News on US Media: A Longitudinal Analysis of News Coverage of Israel.” Israel Studies 22 (1): 24. https://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.22.1.02. Budak, Ceren, Sharad Goel, and Justin M. Rao. "Fair and Balanced? Quantifying Media Bias through Crowdsourced Content Analysis,” Public Opinion Quarterly 80, no. S1 (2016): 250-271. Dougherty, Michael Brendan. "Hungary: An Overweighted Symbol.” National Review, August 4, 2021. Accessed September 14, 2021. https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/hungary-an-overweighted-symbol/. Entman, Robert M. "Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of Power.” Journal of Communication 57, no. 1 (March 2007): 163–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00336.x. McCombs, Maxwell E., and Donald L. Shaw. "The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media.” Public Opinion Quarterly 36, no. 2 (1972): 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990.