Abstract
All cultures are communities of moral value – they create moral values and demand recognition as communities of value creation and worth. If we accept this proposition, then it follows that we place a value on diversity, however much we may dislike certain practices that other communities of moral worth pursue. This position, however, is directly challenged by globalisation and human rights normativity, for instance, and the world that we live in can be interpreted along this polarity. I examine in-depth the relationship between political power and cultural community. My argument centers on the idea that this relationship is real, that political power rests on bounded cultures, and that the very real attainments of democracy are determined in signifi cant part by the cultural foundations of political power. My starting point is the coming of modernity. Modernity is a much contested concept and has dimensions in politics, the economy, society and culture in the widest sense, not to mention psychology and other areas. In the context of nationhood, however, the central determinant is the transformation of the nature of power.
The power of the state is being eroded by globalisation. The consequences are likely to be an unexpected transformation of politics. Parallel to the growth of civil society, there could well be an increase in ethnic identifi cation. States, fi nding that their capacity to condense civic power is being challenged, could come to rely more heavily on ethnic or ethnicised discourses. Large states are becoming smaller in the context of globalisation. This does not have to be a disaster for democracy, as some fear. There are well-tried instruments for regulating inter-ethnic relations. But what is beyond doubt is that the universalism of the cultural great powers — the belief that the French or British or American way of doing things is proper for everyone—will come be threatened, and the diversity of cultures, articulated as ethnic identity, will find ever stronger expression.
Abstract
The ten new Member States of the EU accompany the Eastward enlargement with the acceptance of Schengen acquis in two phases. While these countries have extended cross-border relations and policy towards kin-minorities living beyond the (external) border of the EU, the Accession Treaty defi nes a rigid adaptation process that ignores existing economic, cultural and people-to-people contacts. This article describes not only the stakeholders of this game but also its legal, geographical, political and ethnical circumstances at both the Union and national levels. The Schengen regime is fundamentally about re-interpreting national borders and their meanings in regards to the movement of persons. As it does so, Schengen’s philosophy has been that national sovereignty should no longer act as a controlling principle for the movement of persons across state borders. Instead, border-control has been designed around the absence of borders for some (i.e. those coming from other sovereign states within the system) and has been reinforced for others coming from other sovereign states outside of the system. This underlying philosophy directly conflicts with a motivating principle of border control in many CEE countries: kin minorities and persons coming from kin states should have privileged access to the territory irrespective the state’s Schengen status. The transformation of border controls from a system based on an individual’s ethnicity to one based exclusively on the individual’s provenance (i.e. where is he or she coming from) creates new frictions.
Abstract
Benefi t laws and dual citizenship have been widely discussed within the minority rights debate. I place both of them in the broader framework of kin-state politics and try to find legitimate arguments for them within the Multiculturalism Debate. I conclude that only national responsibility (symbolic acknowledgment and fi nancial support) is justifi able, that the argument for national integration (special status in the legislation) is limited in content and execution, and that national incorporation (granting citizenship on a cultural and collective base) is unjustifiable in any circumstance.
Abstract
The contention of this article is that transnational ethnic affiliations, as represented by offi cial and unoffi cial diaspora policies, are used by kin-state elites to further domestic political goals. I argue that Hungary’s increasingly interventionist policy towards ethnic Hungarians beyond its borders from the late 1970s to the 1990s was driven primarily by the political strategies of right-wing elites. These elites utilized and co-opted transnational ties with their co-ethnics in neighboring countries in order to further their own political goals. Specifically, engagement with the diaspora issue provided these elites with symbolically charged ideological content and legitimacy, organizational resources, and the ability to shift the alignment of political power through oppositional politics and issue deflection. The article traces the domestic political uses of transborder nationalism over time, focusing on three periods in Hungarian politics when kin-state politics intensified: the late decades of communism, the early years of democratic transition, and the ascendancy of FiDeSZ in the late 1990s.
Abstract
The article analyses the theoretical issues regarding the recommendation 1735 (2006) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the concept "nation". The resolutions and the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) are not binding, but they may help orient our unders fanding about European politicians' thoughts on certain issues, like the nation. These resolutions and recommendations are in the first instance political documents, and not scientific ones.
Debates concerning the defi nition of the concept national minority have a long history. None of the definitions supposed the existence of a kinstate or other co-nationals sharing the same cultural, linguistic, etc. characteristics. Even if it is obvious that several national minorities came into being as a result of border modification, formerly being parts of a nation, this was not reflected in any definition on national minorities. The recommendation The concept of „nation" shows that the question of nation remained on the political agenda, and that in the last five years the views on the nation, on the rights of national minorities, and on the right of kin-states to support their kin-minorities has substantially changed.
Abstract
Romania is a strategic and immensely important link between East and West for both the European Union and Hungary. Furthermore, because of the large Hungarian population in Romania regions, the Hungarian-Romanian state borders are also high priority national strategic regions. Its special position has meant that this 447.8 km long Hungarian-Romanian border section has always reacted as a fi ne seismograph to different regional and local political, economic, social and cultural impacts. This is well refl ected by the data on the changes in border—especially passenger—traffic.
The Euro-Atlantic integration of central-eastern-European countries and the significant differences in this area raise numerous questions about the penetrability of borders. In previous years, international migration expanded gradually; today, this has changed. Besides largescale population movements for social, societal and employment reasons, there are also signifi cant movements associated with international criminal activities. Illegal migration, arms brokering, drug trade, nuclear and other high-tech device smuggling are global risk factors. Moreover, international terrorism has become the main issue in security policy since September 11, 2001. Therefore, the more-or-less rightful fear of international migration, relating to both legal and illegal processes, sharply contrasts with citizens' natural demand for easy border access (i.e. traversing borders with the fewest possible problems) and for keeping contacts with Hungarian populations in the transborder region.
Abstract
The article looks at the role played by Romanian migrant workers in the relations between East and West in the context of Romania’s 2007 accession to the European Union. Starting from an investigation into existing legal provisions for work diasporas in both Western Europe and at home, the article argues that bi-lateral state relations can suffer as a result of either negative reactions to the presence of migrant workers in the host countries or the inability of the home country to negotiate ‘safe passage’. As a result, it is often up to diasporic groups to fi nd a space where identity can be articulated, reproduced and expressed politically to address the lack of basic rights. New media in the form of diasporic websites is offered as an example of how Romanian migrant workers in Great Britain begin to construct a ‘language of claims’ in their production and consumption of new media.
Abstract
The article addresses the current visa practices in Serbia and Ukraine. It is based on interviews and on-site observations. The operation of the main institutions (i.e. consulates and Border Guards) is closely described from the stakeholders’ and “suppliers’” point of views. Several systematic contradictions that refl ect on Schengen-accession are presented. Luca Váradi’s article is the first attempt to collect information related to the visa-system that focuses on people residing in the border-regions.
Abstract
Between 1990 and 2004, during the EU accession process, opinion research in Hungary showed not only increasing skepticism but also a very abstract imagination in regards to the EU and its institutions. Not only was the ability to imagine the EU diffi cult, but knowledge about the EU was also limited and rough. This indicated that the European Union does not yet seem to be an "imagined community" for the Hungarians. The protracted debate about the EU enlargement resulted in a lack of confi dence in the symbolic position and self-representation of the nation. Parallel to this, Hungary tried to re-draw the mental map of ex-communist Europe and attempted to attain a central economic, social and cultural position in the region.
The covers and caricatures of the Hungarian newspapers during the period of the EU accession highly superfi cially and confusedly revived the old visual narratives on Europe. Another common characteristic of this imagining Europe is ambiguity: all pictures show the emotions of insecurity and dissatisfaction with regard to whether or not Hungarians are "fi t for Europe". As a result of this, the accession had a mirroreffect: in the pictures the European Union is not to be seen; instead one fi nds self-portraits that stress Hungary's alterity. The only visual novelty – one may regard this just with mixed feelings – is the widening of the discursive horizon toward the USA. It refers to the old-new question of loyalty: which continent, which constellation of power Hungary should prefer?
Abstract
This article aims at placing Hungary in the international energy security debate by identifying the confl icting interests present in the country, namely the interests of Russia, the European Union, Germany and the United States. It also tries to analyze the national strategy that should respond to these challenges and, most importantly, reduce external dependence on supplies as well as explore the feasibility of the available solutions.
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