In Hungary, autocracy has dethroned liberal democracy

Budapest

FOLLOWING the collapse of communism, many of us in Central and Eastern Europe had hoped that the region would steadily move towards liberal democracy, overcoming any obstacles en route to that goal.

But in many former communist countries, older systems of patronage and corruption have survived, and taken new forms. What we thought was a transitional phase has become a permanent state of affairs.

Consider Hungary, which has become a mafia state during the seven years of Viktor Orbán's rule as prime minister. Hungary is unique in that it moved towards liberal democracy and joined the European Union before changing course and headed toward autocracy.

The rest of the region's mafia states - Russia, Azerbaijan and other Central Asian former Soviet republics - either passed through a period of oligarchic flux, or took a direct path from communi…