Growing ambition in a shrinking space: Hungary’s community foundations after the election

“Hungary’s general elections in April gave (once again) a constitutional majority to the ruling coalition government and a green light to pursue policies which include the demonisation, discrimination and harassment of NGOs. This has been well documented by the international press and its goal was made clear in the first post-election statement of the winning parties: organisations meddling in politics must be closed down! For Hungarian NGOs, it is reminiscent of how the communists approached their enemies: those not with us are against us. This sounds like a textbook example of shrinking space for civil society. And indeed, it is increasingly difficult for NGOs to carry out their work. However, it is not impossible! There is unexpected depth and richness to this picture, and the nation’s newly emerging community foundations are playing a vital role.”

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