@webarticle {1293039, title = {Viktor Orban{\textquoteright}s Viral Authoritarianism}, year = {2020}, abstract = {
The global pandemic claimed its first democracy on March 30 when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won approval from his parliament to rule Hungary indefinitely by decree. Orban{\textquoteright}s new powers give him unlimited authority to fight the coronavirus by suspending parliament and all future elections, overriding Hungarian law and imprisoning persons found guilty of the new crimes of {\textquotedblleft}violating a quarantine{\textquotedblright} and {\textquotedblleft}spreading false information.{\textquotedblright}
Democratic governments all over the world are undertaking temporary emergency measures to address the pandemic crisis, but none are as sweeping as Hungary{\textquoteright}s. Temporarily restricting freedom of movement and prescribing social distancing are reasonable limits on civil liberties aimed at containing the virus. But the Hungarian case demonstrates how the public-health crisis can be used as an excuse to promote authoritarianism far beyond the current emergency.
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}, url = {https://prospect.org/coronavirus/viktor-orban-viral-authoritarianism-hungary/}, author = {John Shattuck} }