CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Fischer, Balint |
|---|---|
| Title | The Puppet Pulls the Strings: Hungary, Orchestration and the Rewriting of Small State Agency |
| Summary | This thesis investigates the political and strategic motivations behind Hungary’s emergence as the foremost recipient of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Although Chinese FDI flows are frequently interpreted through lenses of economic determinism or as extensions of Beijing’s statecraft, this study offers a distinct interpretive approach. Hungary, a small country with deeply embedded economic and institutional linkages to the West, reshaped the landscape of Chinese investment in Europe. The central research question is: “What explains Hungary’s status as China’s primary investment destination in Central and Eastern Europe?”. While most studies evaluate Chinese economic statecraft in engaging with CEE countries, few focus on recipient states’ strategic outreach and agency. Rather than viewing Hungary as a passive target of Chinese investment, this thesis contends that Hungary has actively repositioned itself as a “reverse orchestrator.” Through diplomatic signalling and economic incentives, Hungary appeals to Chinese capital while leveraging its EU membership to amplify domestic and foreign policy goals. The research uses the qualitative method of data triangulation, incorporating interviews, public speeches, and academic sources. This thesis contributes to debates on small state agency in the evolving landscape of great power competition, shaped by economic policy choices and alignment with overlapping interests. |
| Supervisor | Large, Daniel |
| Department | Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/fischer_balint.pdf |
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