Contemporary Hungary Research Articles

SOCIAL ANALYSIS, VOLUME 13, 2023, SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF SAPIENTIA HUNGARIAN UNIVERSITY OF TRANSYLVANIA

Volume 13 of 2023 of the journal Social Analysis contains several contributions on sociology in Romania and Hungary at different moments of evolution during the twentieth century. The first four articles deal with aspects of the activity of the Bucharest Sociological School, while four other contributions concern sociology in Hungary. In several articles there are comparisons between the two sociological movements or references to broader developments in Central and Eastern Europe. If about Romanian sociology we receive only information related to the Monographic School, regarding Hungary the articles have a much wider area: from nationalist sociological concerns at the beginning of the twentieth century, to the reorganization of sociology after the Revolution of 1956 and reaching biopolitical approaches with echoes in contemporary Hungary.

The role of Christian faith in the reintegration of female prisoners

Aim: This study delves into the correlation between religious faith and the process of reintegration among women in incarceration. In Hungary, this subject is relatively understudied; however, international insights underscore the prominent role of religious convictions in shaping an individual’s predisposition towards criminality and their influence on prosocial conduct. Yet, the extent and contentious nature of its role in reintegration persist due to a lack of emphasis by societal institutions associated with detainees, disregarding the intricate sociological prospects embedded within religion and faith. These prospects, meticulously scrutinised by sociologists, encompass the maintenance and fortification of social order, the regulation of human activities, and more. An additional challenge arises post-release, where organisations and religious institutions involved in the spiritual rehabilitation of detainees lose contact with these individuals, impeding subsequent investigative efforts.Methodology: The data for our pilot study were gathered among residents of Kalocsa Prison in 2024. Employing the Shortened Aspiration Index, augmented by interviews, our research methodology sought to enrich descriptive statistical analyses through the nuanced exploration of interview content. Sample selection followed a randomised and voluntary basis (N: 46 individuals). Importantly, the outcomes derived from our study are not intended for generalisation but rather apply specifically to our sampled cohort.Findings: Our discernments indicate that, for the female detainees under scrutiny, faith and religious practices wield a positive influence on delineating life objectives. They also play a pivotal role in sustaining mental equilibrium, with noteworthy psychoeducational ramifications. During catechesis, knowledge enrichment extends beyond cultural dimensions to encompass moral teachings, fostering an understanding of the ethical values and frameworks essential for normative living.Value: Determining the criteria for the success of post-release reintegration proves elusive, given the nuanced and idiosyncratic nature of success for everyone. Factors influencing an individual’s psychological dynamics and behavioural patterns intricately interweave within a complex socioeconomic system. Thus, it is reasonable to assert that the precepts of Christian teachings, faith, and the spiritual and organisational scaffolding of religious practices can form integral components of a supportive framework. Acknowledging the reinforcing role of Christian faith, particularly among women, aligns with the 2022 census data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), which underscores a prevailing proclivity towards religiosity among women in contemporary Hungary.

A keresztény hit szerepe a női fogvatartottak reintegrációjában

Aim: This study delves into the correlation between religious faith and the process of reintegration among women in incarceration. In Hungary, this subject is relatively understudied; however, international insights underscore the prominent role of religious convictions in shaping an individual’s predisposition towards criminality and their influence on prosocial conduct. Yet, the extent and contentious nature of its role in reintegration persist due to a lack of emphasis by societal institutions associated with detainees, disregarding the intricate sociological prospects embedded within religion and faith. These prospects, meticulously scrutinized by sociologists, encompass the maintenance and fortification of social order, the regulation of human activities, and more. An additional challenge arises post-release, where organisations and religious institutions involved in the spiritual rehabilitation of detainees lose contact with these individuals, impeding subsequent investigative efforts.Methodology: The data for our pilot study were gathered among residents of Kalocsa Prison in 2024. Employing the Shortened Aspiration Index, augmented by interviews, our research methodology sought to enrich descriptive statistical analyses through the nuanced exploration of interview content. Sample selection followed a randomised and voluntary basis (N: 46 individuals). Importantly, the outcomes derived from our study are not intended for generalisation but rather apply specifically to our sampled cohort.Findings: Our discernments indicate that, for the female detainees under scrutiny, faith and religious practices wield a positive influence on delineating life objectives. They also play a pivotal role in sustaining mental equilibrium, with noteworthy psychoeducational ramifications. During catechesis, knowledge enrichment extends beyond cultural dimensions to encompass moral teachings, fostering an understanding of the ethical values and frameworks essential for normative living.Value: Determining the criteria for the success of post-release reintegration proves elusive, given the nuanced and idiosyncratic nature of success for everyone. Factors influencing an individual’s psychological dynamics and behavioural patterns intricately interweave within a complex socioeconomic system. Thus, it is reasonable to assert that the precepts of Christian teachings, faith, and the spiritual and organisational scaffolding of religious practices can form integral components of a supportive framework. Acknowledging the reinforcing role of Christian faith, particularly among women, aligns with the 2022 census data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), which underscores a prevailing proclivity towards religiosity among women in contemporary Hungary.

Event Religion

Abstract This article examines some of the changing forms of religion in contemporary Hungary, with a focus on a case study conducted at a mindfulness and lifestyle festival called Everness. The emerging need for an alternative kind of spirituality supplementing or opposed to traditional forms of religion has generated a new conceptual approach that I call event religion. In inductive empirical research, I used event religion to describe and interpret the participant experience in event-based settings through four dimensions: spatiotemporality, symbols, community, and inward experience. I show some characteristics of contemporary changing religiosity and spirituality through the examination of the four dimensions of experience.

“Let’s have a cup of tea” – Scandinavian crime fiction through Hungarian eyes. Zoltán Kőhalmi’s practical guide to crime writers

In recent decades, a wide range of Scandinavian crime novels have conquered Hungarian readers, providing a more sophisticated perspective on the existing image of Scandinavian cultures and societies, with their intriguing social content and appealing landscapes. This wave of crime fiction has not only contributed to a better understanding of Scandinavia, but also drawn attention to the genre itself, which culminated in a parody written by a Hungarian stand-up comedian, Zoltán Kőhalmi. In his incorporation of all the obligatory ingredients of Scandinavian crime novels, the comedian not only reuses the self-image that Scandinavian crime narratives convey, he pillories the genre requirements by exaggerating the use of the most well-known characteristics. The analysis of Kőhalmi’s satirical use of Scandinavian crime narratives serves as a case study for a closer understanding of conceptions of Scandinavia in contemporary Hungary.

The Good, the Bad and the Disney: Employing princesses to examine Hungarian tweens’ understanding of gender

By relying on diverse scholarly works within several fields – such as communication, cultural, feminist media, film and tweenhood studies – on the one hand, and conducting audience research with Hungarian informants on the other, this interdisciplinary study, as part of a bigger project, examines Hungarian tweenagers’ negotiation of gender. It does so by investigating the concept of ‘the’ princess, including but not limited to Disney Princesses, while offering unique contributions on both theoretical and methodological levels. Theoretically, it shines a light on the limitations of applying Western, post-feminist, liberal theories in a non-Western, post-socialist and ‘illiberal’ environment, and it discusses complexities of the Princess Phenomenon which have been overlooked in academia. From a methodological perspective, it presents innovative short-term ethnographic approaches, specifically in terms of conducting a gender-centred audience study with young people in an anti-gender milieu. To achieve these objectives, this work first introduces the historical, social and political contexts in contemporary Hungary. This is followed by a discussion of the theoretical and methodological approaches which it was necessary to consider before undertaking the fieldwork in Hungary. The article then analyses Hungarian children’s notions of gender by discussing their ideas about ‘the’ princess as a concept. Finally, as a summary, this study outlines its contributions to diverse academic disciplines.

Them and Us – Pintér Béla’s Blood-Red, Off-White, Dark Green and András Urbán’s Sacra Hungarica in Context

The paper wishes to document a recent trend visible in the Hungarian independent theatre scene – a turn towards social, political issues, as well as a growing sensitivity towards the visible tensions in Hungarian political discourse. It does so through the analysis and the contextualization of two recent Hungarian independent theatrical productions. Studio K’s 2019 Sacra Hungarica is an in-your-face attempt to portray the current distortion of the language and the abuse language is used for, while Béla Pintér’s Blood Red, Off-White, Dark Green, a clever Oedipus Rex paraphrase that depicts marginalization, racism, and nationalism in a pointedly non-pc allegory. The essay introduces the status of independent theatre vis-à-vis politics after 1989 and will delineate the changes the conservative governments brought into the alternative scene. Then, through an in-depth analysis of the above-mentioned two productions, it discusses the various means of theatricality they use to comment on contemporary Hungary.

Some Candidates for the Vacant Throne of Interwar Hungary: International Approaches to Finding a Resolution

After the resignation of Charles IV, a particular public law situation, the so-called “kingdom without a king,” came about in interwar Hungary, which persisted through the whole period. The “king question” that developed around taking the vacant throne aroused a keen interest not only in internal politics, but also abroad. The study gives a short account about who could emerge as a possible Hungarian king and why they could do so, and how the issue was presented to the international public. The author analyses the rumours, both in the press and in diplomatic documents, which are rather under-exploited as sources in historical research. The article first outlines the general socio-political situation in post-Great War Hungary and then shows how the problem of the “king question” divided Hungarian public life into several camps. It then, without claiming completeness, examines the motivations and realities of combinations for some of the individuals who most frequently appeared as candidates for king in the various rumours. In terms of the timing of the rumours, the study highlights the domestic and international events and circumstances in which interest in the issue of Hungary’s “kingless kingdom” was heightened in public discourse, and how such combinations influenced the image of contemporary Hungary. It also sheds light on the reasons that have prevented the kingdom issue from being settled. Finally, the author attempts to outline what the “ideal” new Hungarian king, acceptable both abroad and at home, should have been like under the given circumstances.

Political Economy of Illiberal Capitalism in Hungary and Poland

Has the recent illiberal surge altered the neoliberal orthodoxy prevailing in post-1989 Hungary and Poland towards a more developmental modus operandi, or has it just camouflaged embedded neoliberalism with a developmental narrative? This article, trying to contribute to answering the aforementioned question, is structured as follows. First, we provide a general overview of the comparative capitalism approach. We extend the original conceptualizations by the framework of varieties of illiberal capitalism and present two ideal types of illiberal capitalism. Then, we assess five institutional areas of the political economy of contemporary Hungary and Poland. We conclude that although Hungary remains faithful to the neoliberal economic orthodoxy so far with illiberal political forces merely camouflaging its true essence due to political and utilitarian reasons, the post-2015 government in Poland managed to move its economic model closer to a more developmental modus operandi.

Illiberal Environmentalism? The Case of Contemporary Hungary

Illiberal Environmentalism? The Case of Contemporary Hungary

Report: Hungarian Studies Association Annual Report

Report: Hungarian Studies Association Annual Report

Creeping Right-Wing Hegemony and Its Contestations: On Public History in Contemporary Hungary

Abstract Approaching the case study of Hungary as one in historical revisionism, this article focuses on new museums, revamped public squares, and popular historical walks which either reinforce or contest the contemporary project of right-wing hegemony. The author compares two major historical museums which both aim to address the recent past and opened in the early years of the twenty-first century; zooms in on two post-2010 initiatives to reshape major public squares in downtown Budapest; and retraces two types of walking tours that foster new awareness via historical spaces. Through these parallel case studies, the author aims to demonstrate that the ongoing project of building right-wing hegemony has produced several notable results; however, right-wing hegemony has remained contested by innovative projects that foster more inclusive visions.

Pension policy in autocracy: The case of Hungary

This purpose of this paper is to analyze pension policy in an autocracy, using contemporary Hungary as a context. The inefficiencies and unfairness of the current policy can be characterized by tensions: the intra- and intercohort polarization of benefits rises, the difference between the loose retirement age for females with long entitlement and the otherwise rigid retirement age widens. Conclusion: it would be easier to reduce these tensions in a rebuilt democracy but even an autocracy cannot avoid some reforms.

Japanese Literature in Contemporary Hungary

This paper sheds light on the main trends in translation of Japanese literature in contemporary Hungary and theorize the role of Haruki Murakami’s works in making Japanese literature widely recognized. Firstly, the paper gives a general overview on translations of Japanese literature in Hungary in the post-1989 era. I argue that after a decline in translation in the 1990’s, the spread of anime and manga combined with the popularity of Haruki Murakami’s novels generated a growing interest in Japanese literature and culture in Hungary resulting in changed translation strategies. While translations were limited to pieces of the so-called junbungaku (pure literature) in the pre-1989 era, numerous pieces of taishūbungaku (popular literature) have been translated since the 2000’s, attracting a wider range of readers than ever. Based on book reviews from critics and readers published in traditional and social media, the second part of this paper will explore the main platforms of Japanese literature and analyze its reception. I argue that the magical realist setting combined with dialogues on fundamental questions of life create a specific literary mode which satisfy the Western readers’ desire for the exotic Other, ensuring the place of Japanese literature in the Western literary world.

Jesuit libraries and popular Jesuit literature in Kingdom of Hungary in the 17th century. Interconnection between Hungarian and Polish Jesuit book culture

The authors present the characteristics of Jesuit libraries in the Kingdom of Hungary in terms of their content, with special focus on works by the most influential Jesuit authors, which were among the most numerous ones in Hungarian Jesuit libraries. The authors also draw attention to the most popular titles published by the Hungarian Jesuits in the 17th century, which can be considered bestsellers of Baroque Catholic literature not only in the Kingdom of Hungary, but also abroad. Many of them also found their readers in Poland and were translated into Polish. Furthermore, the authors point to the interconnection between Hungarian and Polish Jesuit book culture and the Jesuit Polonica in Hungarian Jesuit libraries and typographies of the 17th-18th century. The Hungarian book culture does not mean the book culture of contemporary Hungary, but of Kingdom of Hungary. This paper focus on the Jesuits from the Slovak territory, which was a part of Kingdom of Hungary for 800 years (from 11th century to 1918). The essential research sources are the international educational program Ratio Atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Jesu and catalogues of Hungarian Jesuit libraries, located in Slovakia, from the years 1632–1782.

The Toolkit of Nationalist Populism in Contemporary Hungary: Symbols, Objects, and Modalities of Circulation

This article belongs to the special cluster, “National, European, Transnational: Far-right activism in the 20th and 21st centuries”, guest edited by Agnieszka Pasieka. Research on populism attributes great significance to mapping the distinctive discursive logic of populist reasoning (e.g., the trope of pitting corrupt elites against the people). This article aims to move beyond the primary focus on discursive structures to stress the role of symbols, objects, and different modalities of circulation in the political communication of populist ideas, using the case of Hungary. By tracing the history of one of the key symbols of nationalist populism—the image of “Greater Hungary”—from its emergence in the interwar period to its present-day use, the article shows how the meanings and material forms this symbol assumed in political communication that evolved under different political regimes. The analysis builds on extensive archival, ethnographic, and online data to highlight how the diversity of material forms and the conduits through which this image circulated have contributed to its endurance as a key political symbol. Symbols, like the Greater Hungary image, condense complex historical narratives into a powerful sign that can be easily objectified, reproduced, and diffused. Today’s differentiated consumer markets provide convenient conduits for this kind of material circulation. These symbols carry meaning in and of themselves as signs, and once they are turned into everyday objects, they facilitate the normalization of radical politics by increasing their salience and broad visibility.

On the periphery: Contemporary exile fiction and Hungary

ABSTRACT This article explores the concept of the periphery as a geopolitical and aesthetic category in the works of three exilic writers of Hungarian origin, Agota Kristof, Tibor Fischer, and Zsuzsa Bánk. These three novels, which have not previously been studied in a comparative framework, explore resistance, terror, and trauma in post-war Eastern Europe, mobilizing a set of tropes that portray the limits of everyday life in Hungary during and after the Second World War. Relying on the concept of “peripheral aesthetics”, it argues that a close reading of Kristof’s The Notebook (Le Grand Cahier [1986]), Fischer’s Under the Frog (1992), and Bánk’s The Swimmer (Der Schwimmer [2002]) reveals that the peripheral spaces these novels depict are associated both with the geopolitical location of Hungary and with the traumas of the post-war period. The three novels make use of various strategies of peripheral aesthetics which reflect different stages of coping with the collective traumas of the region.

СТРЕССОУСТОЙЧИВОСТЬ И ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ ЕВРОПЫ В ПЕРИОД КРИЗИСА: СЛУЧАЙ ВЕНГРИИ

The article reveals the strategies of the political elites in a number of East European countries, which allowed them during the pandemic crisis not only to maintain stability, but also to expand the use of authoritarian practices by easing foreign policy pressure from Brussels. Using the case of Hungary as a basis for empirical analysis, I show how the crisis has increased the opportunity for power elites to consolidate their dominance. The restrictive measures imposed by Western countries were used by the Hungarian authorities as an excuse to carry out another attack against political competition and civil liberties. However, the main outcome of the political development during the pandemic crisis in Hungary was not so much a clearly observed undermining of democracy and the rule of law, as another round of nationalization of a number of economic enterprises that fell under the control of the ruling elites. This strengthened the economic foundation of autocracy in contemporary Hungary, making the regime more autonomous from EU pressure. I argue that the autocratization of Hungary in the context of the pandemic is based on the successful application of the maneuvering strategy by the elites. Their choice, in turn, is shaped by the historical legacy of Hungary, which pioneered this strategy to resist Moscow's pressure during the Communist rule. I show that the two most important factors - temporality and spatiality -are key to the effectiveness of the political survival of the current political regime in Hungary. The first of them provided an arsenal of strategies that were effectively used in the Soviet period and reapplied by the Hungarian elite nowadays. The second factor ensures the exchange of ideas between the leaders of the East European countries - EU member states. Thus, the “learning” and successful application of strategies that reinforce authoritarian tendencies in contemporary Hungary has both historical (temporal) and spatial dimensions.

Russian Literature in the Works of Three Generations of Hungarian Scholars. Review of: Kroó, K., & Bóna, E. (Eds.). (2018). Golosa russkoi filologii iz Budapeshta: literaturovedenie i iazykoznanie na kafedre russkogo iazyka i literatury Universiteta im. Loranda Etvesha [Voices of Russian Philology from Budapest: Literary Studies and Linguistics at the Department of Russian Literature and Language of Eötvös Lorбnd University].

This paper looks at the collection of articles entitled Voices of Russian Philology from Budapest, published in 2018 under the editorship of Prof. Katalin Kroу. The collection gives a recapitulation of several generations of Russian studies produced by scholars affiliated with Eцtvцs Loránd University. The book contains works on both Russian literature and language; however, the review focuses solely on the papers dealing with various aspects of the history of Russian literature covering a large period from Pushkin to Ulitskaya. The reviewer points out a significant thematic diversity of the reviewed papers: some authors elaborate on rather conventional topics (such as Vladimir Solovyov’s historical philosophy, autobiographic elements in Herzen’s prose, poetics of detail in Chekhov’s works, etc.), while others develop relatively new issues. Some articles are of interest from the methodological point of view. The quality of articles collected in this volume proves that despite the fact that the Russian language no longer retains its status in contemporary Hungary, Russian studies still keep a high profile.

HUNGARIAN AND SLOVAK ISSUES IN THE TEXTS OF LAJOS HAAN IN THE BACKGROUND OF CULTURAL AND LITERARY SCIENCE

Slovaks living abroad form an integral part of the Slovak national cultural context. They create values that need to be preserved, enhanced and point out their versatility and use for contemporary forms of cultural identification. Slovaks in Hungary, who have been living in the vicinity of Békéscsaba for more than three hundred years, are also an important component of the Slovak minority of Hungarian Lowland. From this “Slovak Palestine”, as Ján Kollár named it, in the 18th and 19th century a historical-religious-cultural center of Slovaks (and also Hungarians) was created, which can still be rightfully proud of its heritage. Being a part of it, as a kind of pioneer, even as a historical basis, is also the personality of Lajos Haan (1818-1891), who performed his versatile activity in the chronotope of “Hungarian and Slovak” Békéscsaba. In this spirit, the article interprets his letters, his diary, “Pamätnosti” (Memoirs) and “Dejiny” (History), while presenting material and immaterial sources, monuments, inspirations that have been, are and will certainly be useful in artistic, cultural and literary “communication”. It is based on the attributes of cultural and literary science, which is thus an integrative model of literature research: a set of approaches that focus on cultural topics, theories and methods. The region of Békéscsaba ( pars pro toto: contemporary Hungary) is its focus. In selected texts of his material writings, Lajos Haan reflects his closer understanding of cooperation with the environment, from a broader point of view the intra- and interculturality of Hungarians and Slovaks: their coexistence, cooperation and diverse creative efforts. It points out the importance of Haanʼs personal contacts within the contemporary social environment, which is also specified in his personal letters. Memoirs are a testimony of an intellectual from the second half of the 19 century; to today's reader they will reveal the “strange, interesting, Hungarian” atmosphere of the time - in the background of social, political, historical, cultural and literary attributes. The description of the characteristic features of the city is a symbol of the peaceful coexistence of nations and nationalities in the Lowlands. In fact, the article presents the complex activity of an unusual personality: a Hungarian historian and a Slovak priest in one person, Lajos Haan, whose texts are interesting and current for today.