Evolution of Hungarian Security Policy Thinking in 1989–1999, with a Special View on the Hungarian Defence Forces

József Lajos Németh

doi:10.32565/aarms.2014.3.3

Abstract

Hungarian security policy thinking has gone through basic and crucial changes in the past two decades. As a result, we can see a kind of “evolution”, which began from a former Soviet satellite status and continued through a role seeking period to active membership in the Euro–Atlantic community. One of the most significant security and defence policy changes can be seen with regard to the shaping and restructuring of the Hungarian Defence Forces.This paper seeks to explain this evolution in the period of 1989–1999 with the support of the János Bolyai Scholarship awarded by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Highlights

Nowadays Hungary has an all–volunteer force, which has to fulfil three fundamental tasks based on the Basic Law:
In order to fulfil the international tasks Hungary sets the level of ambition at 1000 military personnel, which is provided by relatively small manpower. [2: 2] Today the Hungarian service–members serve on three continents as peacekeepers, mil- itary observers, advisors, trainers or in crisis response operations
The Hungarian national military representatives are working in administrative positions in North–Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), and they are fulfilling many military diplomatic tasks as well

Summary

Defence Forces

Hungarian security policy thinking has gone through basic and crucial changes in the past two decades. We can see a kind of “evolution”, which began from a former Soviet satellite status and continued through a role seeking period to active membership in the Euro–Atlantic community. One of the most significant security and defence policy changes can be seen with regard to the shaping and restructuring of the Hungarian Defence Forces. This paper seeks to explain this evolution in the period of 1989–1999 with the support of the János Bolyai Scholarship awarded by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Introduction

Findings

Conclusions