Jobbik’s journey from radicalism to mainstream politics : Analyzing the parliamentary speeches of Jobbik and the dynamic network of its politicians

Rakovics, Zsófia and Barna, Ildikó (2024) Jobbik’s journey from radicalism to mainstream politics : Analyzing the parliamentary speeches of Jobbik and the dynamic network of its politicians. INTERSECTIONS: EAST EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIETY AND POLITICS, 10 (4). pp. 82-105. ISSN 2416-089X

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Abstract

Exploring the substantial influence wielded by politicians in shaping social reality and molding the public perceptions of the country may be beneficial from a social scientific point of view. Our research delves into the distinctive realm of parliamentary discourse to unravel this intricate process. We focus on the transformative role of politicians and political parties within the public political sphere. Through an innovative approach, linguistic similarities in parliamentary speeches are harnessed to unveil the strategies of political communication, the dynamics of power dynamics, and the myriad modes of interactions. Our research puts the spotlight on Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary, a notable far-right party that has navigated a decade of political success in Central and Eastern Europe. Gaining a substantial share of the vote in national elections, Jobbik’s evolution from its radical right-wing origins to a moderate conservative people’s party is the subject of scrutiny. Leveraging techniques such as natural language processing, document embedding, social network analysis, and structural topic modeling, the study dissects Jobbik’s journey from radicalism to mainstream politics. We uncover the transformation of Jobbik through a meticulous analysis of parliamentary speeches and the use of quantitative analytical tools. We not only reveal the evolution of Jobbik’s identity but also contribute to a deeper understanding of the intricate interplay between political communication and power dynamics.

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