Strategic Narratives and the Legitimation of Foreign and Security Policy: Hungary 2010-2024
Strategic Narratives and the Legitimation of Foreign and Security Policy: Hungary 2010-2024

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses how strategic narratives function as mechanisms for legitimising foreign and security policy in small and medium-sized states in the absence of formalised Grand Strategies. Building on the conceptual distinction proposed by Silove (2018) between Grand Strategy as a plan, a guiding principle and a behavioural model, the study examines Hungary’s positioning between 2010 and 2024 within the Euro-Atlantic framework. The analysis employs a qualitative research design, correlating discursive themes in national security strategies and political discourses with recurring patterns of behaviour in domestic and foreign policy. The results indicate a gradual shift from a security logic primarily based on institutional integration (2004), to one placing increasing emphasis on sovereignty, national interest and strategic autonomy (2020). Although Hungary does not have a formally codified general strategy, the convergence between recurring narratives and behavioural patterns suggest the existence of a form of strategic coherence identifiable at the level of principles and behaviour. The study argues that strategic narratives function as mechanisms for coordinating and justifying action, contributing to the articulation of foreign policy options in conditions of asymmetric dependence on alliances.

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