The Development and Functioning of Cultural Autonomy in Hungary

Dobos, Balázs

doi:10.1080/17449050701487488

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The Parliamentary Debate on the 1993 Minority Law After 1990, the new democratic government continued to work on the minority law, which was submitted to the Parliament in June 1992 and was accepted a year later, in July 1993. The Hungarian Minority Law elicited broad international interest and has been relatively well surveyed elsewhere (see, for example, Bindorffer 2011;Csefkó and Pálné Kovács 1999;Dobos 2007Dobos , 2011Eiler 2005;Kállai 2005;Koulish 2003;Kovats 1999;Pap 2015;Schafft 1999;Szabó 2005;Vizi 2015;Walsh 2000;Waters and Guglielmo 1996). These studies present the historical context of the law and analyze how its implementation affected national minorities and the Roma in particular.…”

Section: In the Shadow Of Trianon: Historical Legacies Of Minority Pomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cultural Autonomy in Hungary: Inward or Outward Looking?

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Dobos

2020

Nationalities Papers

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Since the late 1980s, the interpretations of policy toward Hungary's minorities-most notably the country's 1993 minority law and the minority self-governments established as part of a system of nonterritorial autonomy (NTA)-have been the subject of debates in politics and academia in at least two critical respects. Aside from the declarative character of the law, foremost has been the question of Hungary's kin-state activism toward Hungarians abroad and the implications this has carried for domestic minority issues. A second-and related-question has concerned the extent to which cultural autonomy and minority rights are in accordance with the needs of the Roma, by far the country's largest ethnic minority group. A growing number of scholars have accepted the argument that the minority law was enacted because of concerns regarding Hungarian minorities living in the neighboring countries. In our view, it is more appropriate to ask instead how Hungary's kin-state policies have influenced the opportunities for domestic groups, and, in particular, how Hungary fits into the broader context of post-Communist state-and nation-building projects. This is the approach we take in this article, which aims to unpack and reconcile the complex and seemingly contradictory findings on the Hungarian case. Our conclusions are drawn from a content analysis of parliamentary debates on the minority law-something that has never previously been undertaken. This is supplemented by semi-structured interviews with former and current politicians and minority activists.

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Section: In the Shadow Of Trianon: Historical Legacies Of Minority Pomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…17 But without the registration of the subjects of the minority law, nonminorities would also be able to vote and be elected. This led later to the so-called "ethnobusiness" phenomenon (Dobos 2007;Smith 2014).…”

Section: Recognition and Registrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Autonomy in Hungary: Inward or Outward Looking?

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Dobos

2020

Nationalities Papers

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“…Internally, Roma comprise the largest group: two per cent in the census, and between five and six per cent in more comprehensive analyses (Liegeois and Gheorghe 1995: 7). However, as elsewhere, internal divisions and scarce resources limited Roma claims (Dobos 2007). In contrast, Hungarian minorities outside Hungary articulated strong demands for cultural rights in their countries and sought to enlist Hungary as a kin‐state to help secure those rights.…”

Section: Cultural Rights and Policies In Political Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

Liberalism and cultural claims in Central and Eastern Europe: toward a pluralist balance†

Csergő

Deegan‐Krause

2010

Nations and Nationalism

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This article relies on cases from new EU member states in postcommunist Europe to integrate two overlapping debates about majority-minority relations. Since the Second World War, political theorists and international institutions have tended to discourage group-rights approaches in favour of individual rights; meanwhile, policy-makers who achieved interethnic peace in postcommunist Europe have often opted for group-rights approaches. On the basis of political theory, international norms and the conduct of political elites in this region, we argue that both the individual-rights and group-rights approaches can be differentiated internally along the dimension of pluralism -that is, their willingness to accommodate multiple processes of cultural reproduction. Moreover, both group-rights and individual-rights approaches can offer justifications for restricting minority cultural opportunities; furthermore, restrictive group-rights approaches sometimes cloak their efforts behind 'Western-sounding' individual-rights rhetoric. Likewise, both group-rights and individual-rights approaches can permit group accommodation that can lead to political integration. We find that de facto pluralist approaches to minority accommodationoften spearheaded by moderate parties of the majority in coalition with minoritygroup parties -encourage ethnic peace, regardless of their foundation in individual or group rights.

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“…The civic principle is based on the assumption that if the Czech Republic is to be a modern civic nation, then one group of citizens should not enjoy more rights or access to more resources than another. This is a different approach from that adopted in Hungary which allows national minorities to establish institutions of minority self‐government (Dobos 2008; Klímová‐Alexander 2005) or Romania which allocates seats in parliament to national minorities to ensure some level of representation (Decker and McGarry 2005).…”

Section: Evolution Of Romani Integration Policy In the Czech Republicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an Effective Romani Integration Strategy: Experiences of Ethnoculturally Neutral and Specific Policies in the Czech Republic¹

Cashman

2008

Studies Ethnicity & National

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While the question of how to integrate Romani communities has increased in political significance since the 1990s, a consensus has yet to be reached on how best to design integration policies for such a heterogeneous group of people. This article examines debates on whether ethnoculturally specific or neutral policies are more appropriate. Using the Czech Romani integration policy as a case study, it identifies as a significant problem the conflation of the Romani ethnic identity with the low socio‐economic status of many (but not all) Roma. This has led to a policy focus on programmes to tackle social deprivation rather than addressing the discrimination which affects all Roma regardless of class. As a consequence of the decentralisation of power in the Czech Republic and the ingrained nature of anti‐Romani prejudice, policies, whether ethnoculturally neutral or specific, will be implemented or rejected at the local level on the basis of local priorities.

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The Development and Functioning of Cultural Autonomy in Hungary

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

Cultural Autonomy in Hungary: Inward or Outward Looking?

Cultural Autonomy in Hungary: Inward or Outward Looking?

Liberalism and cultural claims in Central and Eastern Europe: toward a pluralist balance†

Developing an Effective Romani Integration Strategy: Experiences of Ethnoculturally Neutral and Specific Policies in the Czech Republic¹

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The Development and Functioning of Cultural Autonomy in Hungary

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

Cultural Autonomy in Hungary: Inward or Outward Looking?

Cultural Autonomy in Hungary: Inward or Outward Looking?

Liberalism and cultural claims in Central and Eastern Europe: toward a pluralist balance†

Developing an Effective Romani Integration Strategy: Experiences of Ethnoculturally Neutral and Specific Policies in the Czech Republic1

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Developing an Effective Romani Integration Strategy: Experiences of Ethnoculturally Neutral and Specific Policies in the Czech Republic¹