The principled realism of Hungarian Christian Democracy: reflections on the Hungarian grand strategy

The formation of a Hungarian grand strategy is a key topic in Hungarian political and intellectual discourse. The Orbán government, based on the ideas of Viktor Orbán and Balázs Orbán, outlined the foundational principles of its foreign policy, which is grounded in a realist understanding of the current global situation. Nevertheless, certain pitfalls have occurred, which have caused and will continue to cause unintended negative political consequences. This paper aims to offer a corrective perspective that aligns closely with the government’s ideological stance of Christian democracy. The most significant Hungarian Christian democrat, István Barankovics (1906-1974), and his forgotten foreign policy ideas, will be recalled to establish an ethically principled yet realistic perspective on Hungarian geopolitics in the 21st century.