Close Ever Distant Never? Integrating Protest Event and Social Network Approaches into the Transformation of Jobbik

By definition, the fringe quality pertains to a party’s peripheral location on a relevant political dimension. These stances usually manage to garner only moderate electoral support. The Hungarian case challenges this interpretation on both counts. We argue for the investigation of additional qualities of fringe politics, i.e. their relationship with their network (the relational element) and claims (the thematic element). Building on the spatial notion subtending fringe politics, we wish to address the fringe quality of the far-right Jobbik by looking at developments in the protest arena. Jobbik committed to moderation since late 2013; accordingly, we wish to ascertain whether a corresponding distancing from more extremist groups and radical claims has taken place. Locating our analysis at the intersection of protest event and social network analysis, we examine Jobbik’s relationships with the actors of the Hungarian far-right and the types of claims upon which it has mobilised between 2009 and 2017. In plain terms, should closeness be revealed between Jobbik and more extremist groups and claims after 2013, we would be able to question Jobbik’s moving away from the fringes. Conversely, a progressive distancing from extreme-right organisations and contentious issues would give partial credence to the abandonment of its radical principles. By focusing on often neglected structural and thematic aspects, the analysis critically enhances our understanding of fringe parties, the relationship with their environment, and the evolution of such relationship over time.