Lilian is a 48-year-old sociologist from Romania who belongs to the Hungarian minority in Transylvania and works in research as well as political activism. He had to learn that scientific neutrality is no longer an option when populist politics contests reality itself. His earliest political memory comes from childhood, when he listened to Hungarian radio stations with his parents and grandparents that reported on the Ceaușescu dictatorship. He felt frustration and fear because of the secret police and political oppression, and was sad to be living in this “shitty dictatorship.”
For Lilian, politics means far more than just voting every four years. It’s about defining the political agenda, negotiating positions and debates, creating political communities, and active participation. His central political themes include equality and distributive justice, recognition politics for marginalized groups (ethnic minorities, immigrants, women, LGBTQI+), environment and climate, the effects of austerity policies on the education system, and educational access for disadvantaged groups.
His political trajectory developed as follows: During school and university, his focus was on ethnic politics and minority rights of the Hungarian community in Transylvania and their recognition politics. Today, he pursues a broader approach that incorporates class differences, intersectionality, and political-economic questions.
Four to five years ago, a decisive turning point came for Lilian: He realized that dialogue with populist politicians is no longer possible, as they don’t just debate solutions but want to define reality itself.
The COVID pandemic marked another turning point. It dramatically intensified existing inequalities. While formally employed people and entrepreneurs received support, people in the informal sector received almost nothing, which contributed to the rise of right-wing populist parties in Romania. Personally, Lilian experienced a paradox through COVID. The slowdown helped him avoid burnout and rethink his research vision. Additionally, the pandemic normalized the use of digital platforms and caused the neoliberal and pro-European consensus in Romania to collapse; themes that were previously not politicized became subjects of political debate. Lilian sees further turning points in the war in Ukraine and the rise of the extreme right in Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania). He sees a dangerous post-fascist hegemony developing. He does not view this as a single moment, but as an ongoing process.
His political engagement is characterized by organizing protests and regular debates, writing more newspaper articles than academic publications in the last 2-3 years, and co-founding the “Movement for a More Equal Transylvania” in 2023.
For Lilian, science and activism are not contradictory poles but connecting and interlocking spheres. He has never seen himself as a researcher in an ivory tower. As a challenge, he sees that no party in the Romanian parliament represents his ideals. Left and progressive forces are highly fragmented and are in a “pre-political” or “pre-party” phase in Romania and throughout Eastern Europe.
Regarding digitalization and populism, Lilian sees digitalization not as the root cause of populism, but it provides tools through which populist ways of creating a majority and political community can be implemented more easily.
Looking to the future, Lilian remains committed to non-electoral forms of political engagement, though he yearns for a party worthy of his wholehearted support, not just the “least wrong alternative”.
This is a summary. The full interview explores Lilian’s experiences and reflections in greater depth.