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The Communication of the European Commission on the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has re-confirmed conditionality and differentiation as the two guiding principles for the EU's assistance to its Eastern neighbours. While this is the right step in principle, in reality this approach only succeeds insofar as the countries themselves want to embark on a path of reform and transformation. However, most of the EU's Eastern neighbours currently lack the will to do so. The lack of a promise of membership by the EU is partly to blame, but the region's own political, economic and social development needs to be taken stronger into consideration.

This book presents compelling essays by leading Hungarian and foreign authors on the variety of social movements and parties that seek influence and power in a Hungary mired in deep and manifold crisis. The main question the volume tries to answer is: what can we expect after the fall of the semi-authoritarian Orbán regime in Hungary. Who will be the new players? What are their backgrounds? What are their political and social ideals, intentions and methods? The studies in the first section of the volume provide the reader with the reasons of the emergence of these new movements: a deep analysis of the historical, political and cultural background of the current situation. The second part contains essays and case studies which challenge the movements and parties involved to look beyond their current ineffectiveness, and to find ways of meeting the challenges that would allow them to exercise responsible and effective leadership in their time and place. This collection would be the first of the kind both in the field of movement theory/history and democracy studies because it reflects on very recent developments not researched in the international scholarly literature. One would not be able to understand contemporary Hungarian society without reading it before the 2014 elections