Bangladesh, March 29 -- Roughly a century ago, Europe found humor in Hungarys peculiar political structure: a monarchy without a king, governed by an admiral despite having no coastline. The joke resonated because it reflected a deeper contradiction-an abnormal political arrangement sustained by historical accident and necessity. Today, that irony has shifted. Hungary is no longer the anomaly. Instead, critics argue, the European Union itself increasingly embodies contradictions that would have once seemed equally absurd.

Modern Hungary, by most conventional measures, is a typical mid-sized European state. It operates under a capitalist economic model, holds regular elections, and participates in international alliances. Its political sy...