Last week, the Hungarian Parliament voted to transfer the control and assets of 11 state universities to foundations run by allies of President Viktor Orbán.  

In reporting on that historic vote and what it may portend for the future of academic and research autonomy at those universities and the extended dominance of the Orbán regime, The New York Times spoke to Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values Kim Lane Scheppele.    

Scheppele had been examining year-long legislative moves by the Hungarian government to establish what she refers to as “quasi-public foundations” created to shield certain public assets from scrutiny by the European Union.  By piecing together various legal provisions buried in dozens of laws, Scheppele says she was able to see what the Hungarian government was planning to do months before virtually all of Hungary’s remaining public universities were moved into these newly-created foundations.   When it finally happened, Scheppele was ready to go with in-depth analysis.

Read The New York Times article "Hungary Transfers 11 Universities to Foundations Led by Orban Allies" .