János Fazekas, one of three Fulbright Scholars at UT Austin this year, spent the 2025-26 academic year at Texas Law co-teaching a course on constitutional design alongside Professor Sanford Levinson. Fazekas is an associate professor in the Department of Administrative Law at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary.
His research project, which was funded by the Fulbright Program, focused on “Constitutional and administrative justice in Europe, with special regard to Hungary” with Visiting Professor Victor Ferreres from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain.
Fazekas was hosted by Lauren Fielder, assistant dean for Graduate & International Programs at Texas Law who also directs the Institute for Transnational Law.
Texas Global featured Fazekas in a story on three scholars who were part of the Fulbright program, which brings international scholars, professionals, and performers to lecture and conduct research at colleges and universities across the United States.
Fulbright Visiting Scholars Power Partnerships with Brazil, Hungary, Mexico
By Ellen Stadler, Alex Briseño, and Riddhi Bora
The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program at The University of Texas at Austin brings international scholars, professionals and performers to lecture and conduct research at colleges and universities across the United States. UT is proud to host Fulbright Scholars annually as visiting faculty members working across academic disciplines.
During the 2025-2026 academic year, three professors from universities in Brazil, Hungary and Mexico came to UT Austin for a semester to serve as visiting faculty, representing the fields of chemical engineering, archaeology and law.
This marks the inaugural year for the Fulbright Hungary and Fulbright Brazil visiting professorships. All three partnerships serve as a testament to the Fulbright program’s resilience and integrity in a time of emerging and substantial obstacles, as well as UT’s ongoing commitment to advancing global engagement.
Texas Global welcomed these scholars to the Forty Acres and integrated them into the vibrant academic community during the 2025-2026 academic year.
János Fazekas
Associate Professor, Department of Administrative Law,
Eötvös Loránd University,
Faculty of Law, Hungary
For János Fazekas, associate professor at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, the experience as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar with the UT School of Law was both an academic milestone and a personal challenge.
A scholar of administrative and constitutional law, Fazekas focuses on the “political question doctrine” — a legal framework that helps courts determine when a dispute is legal in nature and when it is purely political. Though the doctrine originated in the United States, it has increasingly shaped constitutional debates in Europe, making UT an ideal setting for his research.
Co-teaching comparative constitutional design alongside UT faculty, Fazekas found particular inspiration in the interdisciplinary culture of the law school and the broader university. Unlike the more departmentally structured academic systems common in Central Europe, UT’s collaborative environment encouraged engagement across fields — from law to political science to international relations.
“It was a surprise for me — a very good surprise,” he said. “Here, the boundaries between disciplines are much more flexible. For my research, which sits at the intersection of law and politics, this was exactly what I needed.”
Beyond the classroom and conference rooms, his time in Austin offered meaningful cultural contrasts. As a scholar who studies the institutional balance between law and politics, he observed the American legal and political environment with thoughtful curiosity — from debates about judicial neutrality to differences in firearm regulation. Yet what stood out most was the openness of the academic community.
“I had anticipated a more closed environment,” he admitted. “Instead, I found colleagues who were incredibly well-informed about Hungary and Europe, and very generous with their time and ideas.”
As he prepared to return to Budapest, where classes resumed almost immediately, Fazekas carried back more than a freshly completed manuscript. He also returned with renewed appreciation for academic flexibility, interdisciplinary dialogue and the importance of stepping outside one’s professional and cultural comfort zone.
“In academia, you need moments to step back. To look at the bigger picture. To get out of your box,” he reflected. “This has been a real sabbatical. I’ve had the luxury to focus on research, to read, to attend workshops, and to talk deeply with colleagues.”