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Incubating radicalism in Hungary – the case of Sopron and Ózd
79-102.Views:29The paper analyses young people’s interpretation of the past, evaluation of the present and po-litical behaviour patterns based on semi-structured interviews (n=60) conducted in two contra-sting constellations of modernization, Sopron and Ózd. First the perception of the most pressing social and political problems, second the potential of political and civic actions are compared. Finally an attempt is made to outline a ‚hopeless’ and an ‚indifferent’ idealtype of political cultu-re. Together they create the opportunity for both the birth of antidemocratic tendencies and the space in which they can evolve. In this sense they provide the preconditions for ‚mainstreaming the extreme’ that is the incubation of radicalism in Hungary.
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The weird world of Russian strategic security culture
95-118Views:68The objective of this paper is to explore the Russian interpretation of the concept of security and to question this interpretation. The first part of the essay provides a historical overview of the relationship between NATO and Russia. Although the relationship between NATO and Russia has never been friendly, it has not always been hostile. How did it become so? How did Russian security policy makers come to the conclusion that NATO posed a clear threat to Russia? What is behind Russia’s intransigent stance towards NATO? Is there even a solid basis for this attitude? What does this tell us about the Russian understanding of security? After an overview of the different concepts of security and an examination of the notion of strategic security culture, the second part of the paper attempts to answer these questions. It concludes that Russia’s strategic security culture has imperialist features and points out why, in the longer term, Russia will be the main victim of this.
