Under Siege: Counterterrorism and Civil Society in Hungary

(Hardback)

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Under Siege: Counter-Terrorism and Civil Society in Hungary critically examines the effects of Hungarys counterterrorism and security policies on civil society organizations since the Fidesz partys sweeping victory in 2010. It explores the historical and political depths of the governments security apparatus, including the formation and implementation of its counter-terrorism laws, polices, and institutions, as well as the terrorism landscape. The author draws upon survey research conducted across four categories of civil society organizations, including peacebuilding, development, human rights advocacy, and humanitarianism, and extensive data collected through semi-structured interviews with members of the civil society community, security actors, legal experts, politicians, and scholars. This book argues that the Hungarian governments counterterrorism and security regime has significantly altered the autonomous space in which civil society organizations operate and severely strained state-society relations.

Reviews

Romaniuk's argument about the relationship between domestic counterterrorism policies and the position of civil society organizations is compelling and contributes to our knowledge in this under-theorized area. Well-grounded in primary sources and interviews, he constructs an argument which is generalizable well beyond the Hungarian case. A must-read for scholars of comparative politics and democratization.

Author Bio

Scott Romaniuk is postdoctoral research fellow in security studies at the China Institute at the University of Alberta.