German-Hungarian defense relations in the light of Hungary’s new National Security Strategy

Abstract

In Hungary’s new National Security Strategy, released in April 2020, the Federal Republicof Germany is shown as an exceptional partner not only in terms of economy, politics, and culture but in defense as well. The German-Hungarian economic relations have always been of great importance although such close defense relations as today have not been established before. In the following, we seek the answer to the question why Germany became important for the Hungarian security and defense policy in the late 2010s. The answer lies in the changed international security environment after 2014, and the changing priorities of the German and Hungarian security and defense policies.