On March 15, 2025, Dr. István Stumpf was awarded the Széchenyi Prize. On behalf of the entire Institute, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to our retired Senior Research Fellow!
Mid-term strategic plan of the Institute for Political Science (summary)
Leading the way in domestic political science: the Institute for Political Science has achieved outstanding publication performance in international journals between 2019 and 2022
About our Institute
The primary objective of the Institute for Political Science of the Centre for Social Sciences (CSS) is to conduct basic research in political science. Researchers at the Institute conduct both theoretical and empirical research, and the results are disseminated to both the academic and general public at scientific and professional forums.
Latest news
As part of the WISE (Women in Solidarity for Energy) project, colleagues from our institute participated in two international online events in March 2025. The events explored energy poverty, the right to energy, and the situation of women in Europe.
The PLEDGE consortium, with members from the HUN-REN CSS Institute for Political Science, focuses on the emotional dynamics of political grievances and their impact on democratic politics, with the aim of strengthening societal and political resilience.
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On April 10, 2025, researchers from the University of Granada, Lilian Bermejo-Luque and Javier Rodríguez-Alcázar, participated in a joint online workshop with members of the Political normativity project at the HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences Institute for Political Science.
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The PRiSMa research group at the HUN-REN CSS Institute for Political Science is inviting applicants through the Momentum MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme, offering a unique opportunity to collaborate with leading research groups in Hungary.
Zsanett Pokornyi, our Institute's Junior Research Fellow and her co-author’s study, “The Role of Legitimacy in Shaping Tax Morale: The Case of Hungary”, has been published in the journal East European Politics and Societies.
The study titled "Pandemic policymaking in European populist and liberal democracies: a comparison between Hungary and Portugal" by Marianna Kopasz, our Institute's Senior Research Fellow, Attila Bartha, our Institute's Senior Research Fellow, and Judit Takács, Research Professor of the Institute for Sociology, has been published in the journal "Political Research Exchange".
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The study titled "The Irresistible Allure of Charismatic Leaders? Populism, Social Identity, and Polarisation" by Rudolf Metz and Bendegúz Plesz, our Institute's researchers, has been published in the journal "Politics and Governance" (Q1).
The study titled "Regeneration of Military Brownfield Sites: A Possible Tool for Mitigating Urban Sprawl?" by Tamás Kovalcsik, our Institute's Research Fellow, has been published in the journal "Land" (Q1) (other authors: Bence Szabó and Zoltán Kovács).
The book chapter titled "Parental involvement and school choice in Hungarian primary schools" by Gabriella Pusztai, Hajnalka Fényes and Péter Róbert, our Institute's Research Professor, has been published in the book "School Choice in Europe" (Routledge).
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On March 15, 2025, Dr. István Stumpf was awarded the Széchenyi Prize. On behalf of the entire Institute, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to our retired Senior Research Fellow!
Latest posts
The latest post of the pti memo blog series offers insights from a thought-provoking lecture by Murat Somer, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Özyeğin University Istanbul and Research Affiliate at the Democracy Institute of the Central European University. Titled "Quo Vadis in Turkey and Implications for Democracy in the World", the lecture explored current political developments in Turkey and their broader implications on combating democratic backsliding. The event took place on May 8, 2025, as part of the HUN-REN CSS Institute for Political Science’s Speaker Series.
The third blog post of the pti memo series summarises the lecture of Dr. Matthew Edward Bergman, Assistant Professor at Corvinus University of Budapest, titled “Ideological Conflict, Logrolling, and Policy Reform: An Analysis of Government Declarations in Western Europe.” The event was organised as part of the HUN-REN Institute for Political Science’s Speaker Series on April 10, 2025. This research, conducted jointly with Hanna Bäck (Lund University) and Wolfgang C. Müller (Universität Wien), investigates why some governments commit to more reform measures in their government declarations.
The second pti memo post summarises the lecture by Bálint Magyar and Bálint Madlovics, researchers at the CEU Democracy Institute, titled “The Russia-Ukraine War and Its Structural Consequences.” The event was organised as part of the HUN-REN Institute for Political Science’s Speaker Series on February 6, 2025.
Hungary is often portrayed as a problem case for European integration due to frequent clashes between Viktor Orbán’s government and the EU’s institutions. Yet, as András Bíró-Nagy and Gergő Medve-Bálint explain in their post on the LSE EUROPP blog, the country’s 20 years in the EU have also seen a relatively high level of compliance with EU policies and strong support for membership among the public.
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In the first pti memo post, we summarise Christian Baden’s (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) thought-provoking lecture titled “Propaganda as a Social Process.” The lecture was hosted by the HUN-REN Institute for Political Science as part of its Speaker Series event series on January 23, 2025.
