Is it about the illiberal state? Politicisation of civil servants in Hungary (2010-2022)

Politicisation of civil servants is an old-investigated topic in the political science and investigations about politicisation processes in Central European countries also appeared in the 1990s. However, scientific debates about the new form of political system in some countries highlighted again the politicisation tendencies in this region. Based on previous research findings the top level of civil servant system in Hungary was and is highly politicized. It is also true even though laws declare the separation politicians and bureaucracy leaders in cabinets. However, having any special policy expertise also can be important to fill civil servant positions in the cabinets. Regarding to the post-2010 Hungarian governments connections between politics, expertise and expected neutrality of bureaucrats need new explanations. The fact is, that more and more outsiders were appointed in state secretary positions after 2010 in the Hungarian ministries. The aim of this paper to present the changeable tendencies in the recruiting process of the top civil servants in ministries. Who are the outsiders in the cabinets and what is their role in the decision-making? Is it about the new political style of state and governance or is it about an effective decision-making intention? The results come from a database that contains social-demographic and career data about all members of Hungarian cabinets including political and bureaucratic leaders from 1990 to 2022. The database is suitable for making comparative examination among cabinets in a long time period.