Negotiating a cultural order for the urban space. The European Capital of Culture Initiative as a Boundary Object Mobilized by Radical-Right Cities

The radical right in Europe is engaged in a political and cultural battle against the liberal principles defining the European Union. Nevertheless, it has to interact with liberal EU institutions to implement European policies when it controls public executives. This relationship has given rise to a limited amount of research when the issue at stake is the implementation of EU-coordinated urban policies. The scope of the current article is to investigate the phenomenon by considering the preselection and selection processes of Hungarian cities controlled by the Fidesz party competing for the 2023 European Capital of Culture title. The analysis shows that these cities and the selection panel assessing their candidacies were negotiating a cultural order for urban Hungary. This negotiation was based on a logic of ambivalence and avoidance by interacting stakeholders to ensure the selection process reached its terms as contemplated by EU regulations. The concept of a ‘boundary object’ defined in interactionist studies is used to approach how the European Capital of Culture initiative was mobilized by the radical right to secure its acceptance in the liberal EU, in spite of its political agenda being aimed at destroying the liberal EU.