54Received 11.03.2026. Revised 31.03.2026. Accepted 29.04.2026.
Abstract. The specifics of Hungary’s socioeconomic policy during Prime Minister V. Orbán’s tenure are examined through the lens of the relatively new global economic trend of illiberalism. The article comprises conceptual and exploratory sections. The conceptual section is based on the general thesis that illiberalism emerged as a reaction to the inability of liberalism, which claims universality, to address the growing development challenges of various societies. It concludes that illiberalism is neither a complete antithesis of liberalism nor a modification of it, but a phenomenon that accumulates the ideas and views of illiberal economists (the so-called heterodox), among whom there are numerous disagreements, sometimes quite arbitrary. This complicates not only a precise definition of economic illiberalism but also its morphology. The exploratory section analyzes the content, forms, and instruments of economic policy in several randomly selected developed countries, focusing on Hungary. The study revealed many common features of economic illiberalism, but in specific forms for each of the countries examined. A study of the Hungarian case allowed us to highlight key differences between Orbanomics – the socioeconomic policies pursued by Hungary’s ruling coalition from 2010 to 2026 – and the traditional economic mainstream. These include: a sharp increase in the role of the state, the creation of domestic conditions for the accumulation of national capital, the consolidation of the country’s financial system, and the “individualization” of the selection of large foreign investors. The conclusion states that Orbanomics represents a personalized form of illiberal economic policy, the form and content of which depend on a fluid combination of factors. Therefore, the prospects for the continuation of such a policy should Orbán leave the political scene are quite unrealistic.
Keywords: neoliberalism, illiberalism, Hungary, Orbanomics, economic model, economic policy
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