The art of securitising. Orbán’s handling of the European refugee crisis

This article examines the main components, context, and sequence of the European refugee crisis’ securitisation in Hungary. Building on content and discourse analysis, this study finds that Orbán, the Hungarian Head of State, successfully securitised the refugee crisis. This study further examines who Orbán’s securitisation audience was and what role it played in the securitisation process. The paper’s findings reveal that the Hungarian public opinion was the primary audience of the securitising rhetoric. The Hungarian public sanctioned, by large majorities, the securitising moves and measures of Hungary’s ruling FIDESZ party.