Magyar-Jugoszláv diplomáciai kapcsolatok 1918-1927 by Árpád Hornyák (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS i67 given the violent record of the past the Communist Partymust not be allowed a second chance to destroydemocracy in Russia. School ofPolitics(SPIRE) R. H. T. O'KANE Keele University Hornyaik,Arpad.Magyar-Jugoszldv diplomaciai kapcsolatok I9I8-I927. Nemzeti Kulturalis Orokseg Miniszteriuma. Forum Konyvkiad6, Ujvideken, 2004. 356 pp. Notes. Bibliography.Price unknown. THIS, the firstbook by a young Hungarian historian,is a remarkablydetailed account of Hungarian-Yugoslavrelations in the firstdecade afterWorldWar I. The story of these two countries' troubled relationship has been largely overlooked by both Hungarian and Yugoslav diplomatic historians, as the valuable overview of the existingscholarshipand primarysourcesprovided at the end of this book (pp. 250-59) makesclear. Previousdiplomatichistorians of the period tended to concentrateon theirrespectivecountries'relationships with the Great Powers. Yet it was precisely such troubled relations between, for example, Hungary and Yugoslavia that caused these countries to seek supportamong the Great Powers.It is, therefore,pleasingto see new research being published on what is an overlooked yet crucial topic; especially when such researchrepresentsa significantpiece of scholarship,based on extensive research in the Hungarian and Yugoslav archives, usefully supplemented by British Foreign Office documents and much of the relevant secondary literature. This book provides a step-by-step, chronological account of HungarianYugoslav relations, broken down into thirty sub-sections ranging from three to twenty pages in length. These sub-sectionsbegin with the firstattempts to mediate an armistice between the Kingdom of Serbia and Austria-Hungary in November I9I8 and concludes with Hungary's decision in I927 to, temporarily,abandon plans for a rapprochementwith Yugoslaviain favourof an agreement with Italy. The resulting analysis is driven not only by the impressivescale of the researchbut also by the author'slaudable ambition to give developments in both countries equal weight and explore the factors shaping each and every step of the unfolding Hungarian-Yugoslav relationship. Formaldiplomaticrelationsbetween thetwocountrieswere onlyestablished in I921; the two countries only succeeded in resolving the most basic issues concerning cross-border traffic in I924; and the acrimonious atmosphere engendered by Hungary's loss of territory to her southern neighbour, (and Yugoslavia's resulting fear of Hungarian territorial ambitions), cast a long shadow over any attemptat a rapprochementbetween the two countries.This book, nevertheless, reveals that there were an almost continuous series of moves by both countries to explore the possibilitiesforjust such an outcome. Moreover, as the author makes painstakinglyclear, a rapprochementwould have been to both countriesmutualbenefit. Both countries faced similarchallenges in the post-war period. Both were surrounded by potentially hostile neighbours, both lacked a Great Power i68 SEER, 84, I, 2006 prepared to offer them its unconditional support and both stood to benefit from the likely attendant consequences of improved treatment for their minorities, increased cross-bordertrade, etc.. Horny'akargues, however, that no rapprochement could take place while both countries fluctuated between competing strategies for competing alliances with competing countries. In I927, for example, when both countries appeared to be on the brink of a rapprochement, Hungary broke off negotiations when Italy offeredherselfas an alternativeally. It naturallyfollows, therefore, that one would have expected this book to provide analysisof these competing strategiesshapingboth countries'foreign policies. Yet, although the impact of wider developments across Europe repeatedly receives consideration, the author offers almost no assessment of the influence of domestic political developments on the foreignpolicies of the two protagonists. The rise and fall of key players, governments, and even entire regimes, merits no more than a chapter heading or a solitarysentence. The foreignpolicyplatformsof thevariouspoliticalpartiesand interestgroups (whetherin government or in opposition) are entirely overlooked, little or no information is offered on the personal backgrounds, charactersand motivations of the individualsactuallydirectingthe two countries'foreignpolicy and only in the rarest of cases is there a sense of the internal debates within the Hungarian and Yugoslavgovernments.Forexample, it is only on pp. 229-30 that the authoroffersa briefbut tantalizinginsightinto the divergentattitudes towardsYugoslaviaof the two camps within the Hungarian foreign ministry; experienced diplomats from the old Ballhausplatzand new arrivalsinto the ministry.It was, however, precisely these divergentattitudes,the influence of various personalities, parties, organizations and publications that ultimately dictated the foreign policies of both countries and both countries' choice of where (andwhere not) to seeka rapprochement. This book, nevertheless,remains a significantpiece of scholarship.Yet...