Revanchism and Anti-revanchism in Hungary: The Dynamics of (De)Politicisation and the Criminalisation of Homelessness

Abstract

This chapter analyses the criminalisation of homelessness on both local and national scales in Hungary between 2010 and 2015 as a depoliticisation process. She argues that revanchism, a political strategy of urban exclusion, is a depoliticisation strategy because it aims to render unequal social relations such as urban poverty invisible and to constrain the political agency of citizens by imposing severe limitations on the use of public space. This chapter offers a detailed account of the dynamics of revanchist and anti-revanchist discourses and policies in Hungary and argues that even if it becomes the dominant strategy on the national scale, depoliticisation of the public space can never be total or complete, but is constantly challenged by politicisation strategies that expose unequal social relations.