A History of the Hungarian Constitution: Law, Government and Political Culture in Central Europe

The new Hungarian Basic Law, which was ratified on 1 January 2012, provoked domestic and international controversy. Of particular concern was the constitutional text's explicit claim that it was situated within a reinvigorated Hungarian legal tradition that had allegedly developed over centuries before its violent interruption during World War II, by German invaders, and later, by Soviet occupation.

To explore the context and validity of this claim, and the legal traditions which have info...