Hungary’s shifting migration policy: from the 2015 refugee crisis to the war in Ukraine

Abstract

A country’s migration policy is always interconnected with political changes and events that occur in the international arena. The issue of migration and migration policy has been on the agenda since the period of transition in the post-socialist bloc. However, the reasons for changing migration policies may depend on the different priorities that each country sets among itself. In this case, the case of Hungary illustrates how changes in national interest and sovereignty considerations affected migration policy. Since the beginning of 2015, when the European Union faced a migration crisis, Hungary has been one of those countries that has stood out for its discourse and strict immigration policies and practices towards people fleeing war state countries. The country has been strongly concerned about security issues after the terroristic events occurred. But already in 2022 when the war in Ukraine started one could see how the policy towards asylum seekers (temporary protection applicants) had been softened, providing more humanitarian approach. Hungary has accepted thousands of Ukrainian refugees and provided huge humanitarian aid to Ukraine. These actions influenced the migration policy and this change can be explained by examining how Hungarian national interest, driven by sovereignty, was changing and redefined in response to circumstances. The thesis analyzed statistics about migration flow, legal documents on migration, speeches of the officials regarding immigration and immigration policy (mostly connected with asylum seekers and refugees) for the period 2015-2017 and 2022-2023. Based on the analysis of legal documents, it was revealed how migration policy was shaped according to sovereignty and the change of intensity of the national interest of the country.