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Political development: what, why, how? A comparative framework for Hungarian history
5-26Views:90The essay focuses on the comparative analysis of Hungarian political development before 1989–90. Instead of dealing with the 32 years since the change of regime, the author is interested in how many different interpretations of political development can be identified. The author singles out examples of political development in developed countries (for example the United States) as well as developing countries (those countries which have become decolonized in the 1960s). The starting point of the analysis is that Hungary cannot be described by either the categories used for developed countries or those that are used for developing ones. While the essay recognizes that the measure of progress at all times for Hungarian development is the example of Western development, it does not accept the approach according to which Hungarian development is a “dead-end” because it differs from Western development in many ways. The essay puts forward the hypothesis of the “normality” of Hungarian political development.
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The characteristics of employers' (and employees') behaviour in a rural border area today, based on interviews
162-180Views:54Clichéd as it may seem, it is undeniably true that the employment situation in Hungary is bad. The profound transformation of the economy and society in 1989-1990 brought about fundamental changes in the labour market. The main features of this were the disappearance of full employment and the emergence and persistence of unemployment. The economic activity of the Hungarian population declined significantly, due to, among other things, the disappearance or restructuring of enterprises and cooperatives, the fall in production and turnover, and the more intensive use of labour under new conditions, while the number of economically inactive increased.
To avoid unemployment, people opted en masse for pensions or pension-like benefits, while young people stayed in school longer in the hope of better job prospects and, even with a much lower birth rate, the number of people still using home-based forms of childcare was essentially the same as before. After 1998, the number of inactive people fell slightly, but in 2009 the number of 15-64 year olds was still 2.6 million, about 7% (166,000) higher than in 1992. Employment fell significantly in the years following the change of regime, mainly as a result of the transformation of the economy. It reached its lowest point in 1996, when some 3.6 million people were in work, 1.3 million fewer than in the period of regime change.
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Hopes and concerns of democratization: Ideas about popular vote in Hungarian political discourse 1985–1989
5-27Views:85The article analyzes the political discourse concerning direct democracy between 1985–89, when the issue of introducing popular vote at local and national level became relevant, both as a general institutional reform of political decision-making, and as the result of some major initiatives launched by social movements. The analysis covers the related law journal articles, party-state documents, the writings of political and intellectual elites (including the opposition), and the wider public (mainly daily and weekly newspapers). The discourse analysis is based on the academic literature of direct democracy and some new aspects, like the timing of introducing direct democracy, its role and perspectives, the consideration of threats and benefits, and the relevance of international examples as possible models for reform. The paper finds that the opposition and the party-state regarded the introduction of popular vote differently: while the emerging opposition emphasised the function of controling the state power by popular votes, the party-state expected to stop shrinking its social legitimacy. Meanwhile, general public seemed to be indifferent about this remarkable democratic reform.
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Labor migration in Szeklerland: Migration and development, decision-making
17-31Views:51Migration for the purpose of employment is an important social phenomenon. The following
study provides insight into the situation of labor migration in Szeklerland after the change of
regime. It outlines the most important trends that define this social process from 1990 to the
present and indicates the changes along which the different periods of labor migration can be
separated. The study discusses the changing perceptions of the connection between migration
and development. The last subchapter contains an analysis about the phenomenon of decisionmaking in the context of new lifestyle trends resulting from migration. -
Seven years with Orion: A háromrészes Orion-kutatásról
146-154Views:36The collection managed by the Voices of the 20th Century Archive and Research Group offers unique opportunities for social researchers. Due to the nature of the march of time, a seemingly endless series of one-time, unrepeatable and irreclaimable moments awaits the masses of researchers so that they take the old research with a new approach and a fresh perspective. The collection does not only provide a chance to quote and refer to the research materials that have remained from the 20th century. We can plan to re-analyze or even to continue or repeat them. Researchers maneuvering through the restrictions of state socialism have left us a legacy that deserves special attention. I believe that these researchers deserve attention looking back even from the 21st century, and that their research should form the basis of today’s research. As a result of the change of regime, social environment and everyday life have changed significantly. Countless aspects of the transformation affecting the whole of people’s lifestyle have remained unexplored to this day, although studying and processing them would be urgently needed. The Orion research, commissioned by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and led by Judit H. Sas, is one of the treasures of the archive which offers sources for researchers dedicated to the field of the life of workers. In my study, I give an account of my most important personal practical experiences, from the sorting and digitization of original source materials written by typewriter to the partial repetition of research.
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The political representation of Hungary’s ethnic minorities in the context of voter turnouts in the local self-governmental elections and in the parliamentary elections
25-39Views:45The political representation of minorities within a nation-state is a task that has always posed a great challenge to countries with substantial ethnic minorities, since both the hardships of establishing an adequate legislative environment, both the sensitivity of the subject make it exceedingly difficult for the legislator to develop a sufficient system. The issue of the proper representation of those 13 recognised minorities that are considered constituent components ofthe state were part of Hungary’s political history since the regime change, and for a rather long period of time it seemed that the adequate solution for their political representation was the local governmental system of ethnic minorities. Since 2011 however, the electoral system makes it possible for ethnic minorities to be represented within the Hungarian Parliament as well, which raises the question of whether this will shift the attention of the affected minority groups from the local self-governments towards the parliamentary representation. In this paper, after reviewing the changes within the legislative environment and – in close connection with that – the problems surrounding the issue of political representation of ethnic minorities, I will attempt to answer this emerging question through a brief analyses based on the turnout-data regarding the 2014 and the 2019 elections local governmental elections.
