Illiberal Advantages of Migration: Hungarian and Polish Narratives in Comparison

The chapter asks when migration carries a crossroad moment that opens a new horizon of possibilities to strengthen illiberal regimes. The study investigates what types of migration are framed discursively as ‘crisis’, which is closely connected to the means developed as crisis management. The core argument is that while these regimes feed on crises that justify extraordinary measures, not every crisis represents a temporal juncture point that can expand geopolitical leverage. New elbow room for integrity is aimed at through innovative modus operandi that are rooted in illiberal regimes’ capabilities to adapt to new circumstances. The main questions this chapter seeks to answer are (1) how this special window of opportunities occurs and (2) what the process is that leads to the revision of traditional political means and the invention of new strategy, designed to reaffirm the resilience of the regime.