6 Hungary: Understanding the Mentality of a Premature Donor Balázs Szent-Iványi Introduction Hungary re-emerged as a donor of international development assistance after 2003, along with most of the other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. It is therefore timely to look back at its performance in this policy area. This chapter seeks to assess the dynamics of the decade to 2015 and provide a brief overview of issues influencing the direction of Hungary’s international development cooperation from 2015 on. Will Hungarian development practice move closer to European norms and ‘best practices’, or will Hungary create a distinct donor profile for itself in the international development system through specialization? Or, will Hungary’s development policy maintain its low profile, ‘emerging’ nature in the foreseeable future? For most of the decade following 2003, Hungarian development cooperation has actually not seen much change or evolution. No clear direction has been visible; development policy seems to have been drifting with the currents. In order to explain this situation, this chapter maps the various sources of influence on Hungary’s international development policy, such as the EU, domestic politics, non-state actors and public opinion. It also examines the potential value added of Hungarian development policy on the EU level. The chapter argues that the reason for Hungary’s low profile policy lies not only in the lack of funding, but also the lack of political guidance and a strategic vision, as well as the weakness of domestic stakeholders. Hungary may be termed a ‘premature donor’, in the sense that its international development policy has not re-emerged due to organic evolution or domestic reasons, but due to external pressure. Nonetheless, some recent events may give rise to hope that the next decade of Hungarian foreign aid policy will be different.