Hungary: A Most Reluctant Ally

In: Contemporary security policy, Band 26, Heft 3, S. 544-557

Abstract

With hard security issues in general & WMD proliferation in particular at the bottom of public security priorities, Hungary has no intrinsic interest in missile defence. As the most problematic of NATO's new members, it also is among the least responsive to external influences. This article examines the tendencies for Hungary's possible participation in the missile defence programme under the United States. After a short introductory overview of Hungarian foreign & security policy, the broader context of the missile defence debate is analysed, including the general Hungarian approach towards WMD, the current state of the Hungarian armed forces, & the preliminaries of Hungarian participation in the missile defence system. The article concludes that lack of publicly available information is among the main reasons why there is currently no real debate on missile defence issues in Hungary. Adapted from the source document.