Hungary’s ‘Milla’ movement shows that social media driven protest movements only succeed when they connect meaningfully with civil society

Abstract

The Hungarian Government, led by the Prime Minister Vicktor Orban has made waves for its authoritarian tendencies and stated ambition to create an ‘illiberal’ democracy. In response to the government’s censorship of the press, a protest group named Milla emerged, which had some success in organising campaigns against the government’s more nefarious tendencies. However, in the end, it joined a political coalition. Dr Peter Wilkin argues that a social media driven protest group can only succeed to the extent that it connects with actors in civil society and builds a grassroots movement willing to support it through concrete actions.