Far-Right Governance and the Russian War in Ukraine: How Hungary and Poland Navigate the Russian Hybrid Warfare

Antony Sebastian ROSERO FLORES

Diplomová práce

Far-Right Governance and the Russian War in Ukraine: How EU Member States Governed by Far-Right Parties Navigate the Russian Hybrid Warfare.

Abstract:

This thesis investigates how far-right governments, Fidesz (Hungary) and PiS (Poland) countered the Russian hybrid threats in three dimensions (Energy dependence, border management, and information warfare) from 2022 to 2024. Despite ideological resemblances, Hungary based its transactional relationship with Russia on a strategy of accommodation, implying that it is the target of the enabler. Poland took a more independent posture to confront and deter any Russian hybrid attack. By combining the Hybrid Threats: A Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem (C.O.R.E.) and realism, this study explores these different countermeasures in the way these far-right ruling parties shape their states' national interest under geopolitical considerations in Europe. The qualitative method is used to make a comparison of these case studies to illustrate the extent to which Russia targeted both member states by means of a multidomain hybrid tool and activities where the threat perception and countering were shaped by the far-right governance. Overall, the findings disclose that Hungary's economic calculations and narrative accommodation with the Russian influence enabled it to have a greater impact in the country, whereas Poland opted for a more militarized sovereignty speech to conduct balanced countermeasures to mitigate any hybrid attack. Therefore, this comparison reflected that domestic political ideologies influenced the states' responses to hybrid threats, with long-term implications for the EU's collective security architecture.

Abstract:

This thesis investigates how far-right governments, Fidesz (Hungary) and PiS (Poland) countered the Russian hybrid threats in three dimensions (Energy dependence, border management, and information warfare) from 2022 to 2024. Despite ideological resemblances, Hungary based its transactional relationship with Russia on a strategy of accommodation, implying that it is the target of the enabler. Poland took a more independent posture to confront and deter any Russian hybrid attack. By combining the Hybrid Threats: A Comprehensive Resilience Ecosystem (C.O.R.E.) and realism, this study explores these different countermeasures in the way these far-right ruling parties shape their states' national interest under geopolitical considerations in Europe. The qualitative method is used to make a comparison of these case studies to illustrate the extent to which Russia targeted both member states by means of a multidomain hybrid tool and activities where the threat perception and countering were shaped by the far-right governance. Overall, the findings disclose that Hungary's economic calculations and narrative accommodation with the Russian influence enabled it to have a greater impact in the country, whereas Poland opted for a more militarized sovereignty speech to conduct balanced countermeasures to mitigate any hybrid attack. Therefore, this comparison reflected that domestic political ideologies influenced the states' responses to hybrid threats, with long-term implications for the EU's collective security architecture.

Keywords

Russian hybrid threats, Hungary, Poland, far-right governments, C.O.R.E. model

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 1. 8. 2025

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: Gökhan Bacik, Ph.D.

UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI

Filozofická fakulta

Magisterský studijní program / obor:
Euroculture / Euroculture