‘Politics of History’ and Authoritarian Regime-Building in Hungary

Abstract

The chapter focusses on the relationship between historical knowledge production and the memory politics and historical ideology of the ‘System of National Cooperation’ that emerged in Hungary after 2010. It assesses the re-nationalisation of the public sphere and the politicisation of history, catalysed both by governmental policies and, to some extent, by pressure ‘from below’. The chapter argues that the key elements of the official ‘politics of history’ promoted by the Orbán government evolved gradually since the early 1990s and then took a radical turn, notably after 2000, when FIDESZ increasingly adopted a radical nationalist stance. It also points to the promising developments in Hungarian historiography after the regime change, seeking to develop a more nuanced picture of the twentieth century, particularly the communist period. It remains to be seen whether the scholars offering these interpretations will be able to retain a certain level of institutional and intellectual independence or if, eventually, the increasing authoritarianism of the regime will force them to choose between the options of ideological subservience and exit.