An Attack on the Open Society

The Orban Government’s Closed Society Turn and the Central European University

Abstract

“How afraid sometimes I was of my freedom, how afraid most of us are of freedom, how hard it is to maintain the sovereignty of our own judgment. To see the world as it is, not as we would wish it to be, how truly we must all struggle to be free men and women in a world saturated with manipulation and lies. Yet to call ourselves free and to actually deserve it is the prize that matters most in a life.” – Michael Ignatieff

During the twilight hours of Soviet influence over Eastern Central Europe, a young Viktor Orban called for respecting "open society" ideals, like democracy, for Hungarians. However, since taking power in 2010, Orban has become a political juggernaut by championing illiberalism and openly criticizing the ideas he advocated for in his youth, for which he may still win the 2026 election. This illiberal turn is particularly represented by his attacks on universities in Hungary, notably the Central European University (CEU). The literature on this topic is vast, though most papers fail to properly analyze the theoretical arguments for an "open society" versus a "closed society" in Hungary. As a result, this paper's central question is why Orban has attacked "open society" values and its leading representative, the university, and what messaging he uses for that success. To do so, I will analyze primary sources of writings by influential philosophers on the concept of "open" and "closed" societies and secondary sources that demonstrate how Orban has mobilized the "revolution of resentment" – the economic and cultural changes of Hungarian society – to mobilize the Hungarians against the CEU, causing the CEU to leave Budapest. "Closed society" ideals are on the rise. The case study of Hungary is an essential way to understand the rationale behind that rise and to demonstrate how "open society" values can fight back.