Can Disability Rights Flourish in Backsliding Democracies? – The Case of Hungary

Disability advocacy organisations face challenges in eroding democracies. Populist governments often employ strategies to curb the operation of organisations critical towards their policies. This study explored how the disability movement can advocate for human rights in an eroding democracy. Data was collected in Hungary, a ‘poster child’ of illiberalism, covering the last 25 years. Results show that the space for disability rights advocacy has been shrinking for the Hungarian disability movement. Opportunities to influence and monitor public policy-making have been diminishing. Disability advocacy organisations have been less included in consultations and decisions about policies affecting disabled people. Due to fear of repercussions, disability movement actors often employ self-censorship when talking publicly. The meaning of human rights and civil society have changed in the public discourse. Legal obligations to consult with the disability movement, existing human rights laws, and statutory human rights bodies seem less and less effective amid eroding democratic structures. The disability movement has become fractured.