Gábor Attila Tóth and Ellen Hinsey. “Rebuilding a Constitutional Democracy.” New England Review (2026). https://nereview.com/article/rebuilding-a-constitutional-democracy/

In this dialogue Hungarian constitutional scholar Gábor Attila Tóth speaks with NER correspondent Ellen Hinsey about Hungary’s arc from its negotiated 1989 democratic transition, through Viktor Orbán’s sixteen-year “electoral autocracy” to the Tisza Party’s landslide victory in April 2026 under Péter Magyar. The two trace how Magyar’s government has since pursued “negative constitution-making,” stripping out Orbán-era provisions through targeted amendments while grappling with how to handle transitional justice through rule-of-law means rather than revenge. Tóth voices real caution about the pace and consistency of these reforms. The two are cautiously optimistic that Hungary has emerged from a dark period, but sustaining democracy will depend less on constitutional text than on civic culture, vigilance, and rivals’ willingness to recognize each other’s legitimacy.