New Publication Illuminates the Puzzle of Turkey-Hungary Relations

Since 2013, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have met more than 25 times in bilateral and multilateral settings. In 2018, Hungary became the only EU member state to join the Organization of Turkic States as an observer. Yet trade between the two countries remains modest — Hungary ranks 39th among Turkey's export destinations, and Turkey ranks 19th for Hungary — and neither public views the other as a foreign policy priority.

What, then, explains the closeness of the relationship?

In a new open-access article published in Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, "Stigmatized but not alone: illiberal coalition-building between Turkey and Hungary," SUITS postdoctoral researcher László Szerencsés argues that conventional explanations like populism, electoral calculation, economic exchange all fall short. Drawing on eleven semi-structured interviews with Turkish and Hungarian diplomats and experts, along with a decade-plus analysis of speeches by both leaders, the article proposes a different account: the partnership is rooted in a shared experience of stigmatization by the European Union.

Both governments, the article argues, have faced sustained EU criticism over democratic backsliding and stalled accession. Rather than adjusting course, Orbán and Erdoğan each reframed this criticism as a mark of pride. Orbán positioned himself as the defender of "authentic" European and Christian family values against a technocratic EU, and Erdoğan asserted Islamic and family-centered values against Western liberal universalism. This shared posture of being unfairly judged, Szerencsés argues, created the conditions for what the article terms an "illiberal coalition": cooperation built on mutual recognition between governments who see themselves as similarly misrecognized, rather than on material interest.

Advocacy in the EU, creation and facilitation of energy hub

The article traces how this coalition operates across two arenas. Within the EU, Hungary has acted as an "illiberal facilitator" for Turkey — vetoing critical EU statements, such as one addressing Turkey's 2019 military operation in Syria, and using its 2024 EU Council presidency to push for eased Schengen visa rules for Turkish citizens. Within the Organization of Turkic States, Hungary's observer status has helped Turkey advance its ambitions as a regional energy hub, including a 2023 deal for Hungary to purchase natural gas directly from Turkey's state energy company BOTAŞ even as the underlying gas supply remains largely Russian in origin.

The article contributes to ongoing scholarly debates on the contestation of the liberal international order, arguing that shared identity claims rather than shared regime type or economic interdependence can better explain cooperation among illiberal governments.

Read the full article, published open access in Southeast European and Black Sea Studies

László Szerencsés is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University, focusing on foreign policy in Turkey, Hungary, and the Western Balkans.