This chapter locates Orbanian discourse and measures on migration in a Schmittian
paradigm. The theory of Carl Schmitt helps us make sense of Hungarian constitutional
developments, because Orbán has continuously concentrated on the political friend
and foe to maintain a permanent ‘crisis’ situation. The chapter shows how Orbán’s
authoritarian goals have determined the management of regular migration and the control
of irregular migration and especially asylum. Most rules applicable during the fictitious
‘state of crisis caused by mass immigration’ in Hungary contradict EU law and breach
international asylum law. The chapter argues that the ‘external constraining force’
of the EU is nevertheless relevant both in the context of migration and for the possibilities
of democratic resistance. The chapter finds potential for legal resilience on the
international and EU level, whereas domestically techniques of democratic resistance
developed during feudalism (e.g., the tradition of free cities or ‘passive resistance’)
and socialism (e.g., samizdat) can be mixed with those based on the leftovers of the
rule of law regime.
