The Role of Sociology in an Illiberal Political Setting: The Case of Hungary.

The article examines the development and current state of sociology in Hungary, focusing on how academic freedom and intellectual autonomy have been constrained under successive authoritarian regimes, including the present illiberal government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. It traces the historical challenges faced by Hungarian sociologists—from the Austro-Hungarian Empire through communist rule to post-2010 reforms—highlighting how political power and market-driven university transformations have reshaped academic institutions into hierarchical, foundation-run entities with diminished critical capacity. Using a realistic fiction case study of a sociology department in a foundation university, the article illustrates the varied responses of sociologists to these pressures, ranging from compliance and careerism to dissent and resignation. It argues that critical sociology, in the tradition of the public intellectual, should resist authoritarianism by fostering open debate and acting as a catalyst for transformative social change, despite the risks and dilemmas posed by the current political environment.