Authoritarianism without Dominant Ideology: Political Manifestations of Authoritarian Attitudes in Hungary

Since the publication of Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford's (1950) classic study, considerable debate has developed concerning the political and ideological correlates of authoritarianism. This paper examines relationships between authoritarianism, on the one hand, and self-identification with ideological labels, attitudes toward political extremists, and party preferences, on the other hand. The survey data have been collected in Hungary between 1994 and 2002. Findings indicate that it is the center-right ideology and political orientation that attracts most authoritarians, yet authoritarian extreme-left also survives. The findings also show that liberal orientation and center-left identification constitute the political counter-pole of authoritarianism. Extreme-right supporters are found to be attracted only to particular aspects of authoritarianism.