14 research outputs found
Are members of the Hungarian minority in Romania part of the Romanian political community?
The history of the Romanian-Hungarian relations is burned by a series of failures, as far as attempts aiming to provide patterns of integration of the Hungarian minority are concerned. These failures, together with the tradition of institutionalized mistrust of the Romanian authorities represented a difficult legacy for the post-1989 political projects and ethno-political strategies on both sides. Since 1989, the situation of the Hungarian minority in Romania has improved significantly in many concerns. In spite of the undeniable achievements, the conflicting interests of the two communities could not be reconciled, and the options of the Romanians and Hungarians, as far as the issue of the integration is concerned, continue to differ in essential terms. The dominant patterns of public opinion yield conflicting identity structures and competing ethno-political strategies, which raise the intriguing question: on what grounds can Hungarians in Romania be considered as part of the Romanian political community? The paper tries to offer an answer to this question by comparing the dominant trends in conceptualizing the term political community with recent research results which bare, according to the author, the evidence of those identity structures and ethno-political strategies which divide the Romanian political community along ethnic fault-lines. The paper reaches the conclusion that if we bare in mind, following Elizabeth Frazer, the "thin" interpretation of the concept, the Romanian political community qualifies without doubts. However, if we consider the "thick" version of the term's prevailing significance, the entirety of the Romanian citizens, which includes the members of the Hungarian minority, falls short of the criteria of the ideal political community for several reasons
Beszállunk-e egy bombázóba, amelynek a pilótafülkéjében Putyin is ott van? : Kerekasztal-beszélgetés
Az ETDK PolitolĂłgia szekciĂłjában, 9 diák elĹ‘adása elĹ‘tt, a Magyar KisebbsĂ©g cĂmű folyĂłirat Ăşj számának bemutatásakĂ©nt a kettĹ‘s állampolgárságrĂłl tartott kolozsvári kerekasztal-beszĂ©lgetĂ©sen sziporkázott egy törtĂ©nĂ©sz, egy szociolĂłgus Ă©s egy sor politolĂłgus
Kormányzat és kisebbségi pártképviselet Közép- és Kelet-Európában = Governmental structures and ethnic minority party representation in Central and Eastern-Europe
A kutatási program az eurĂłpai etnikai Ă©s etnogregionális mozgalmak, pártok szakirodalmábĂłl kiindulva a bulgáriai török, a romániai, szerbiai, szlovákiai magyar parlamenti pártokat vizsgálta. A kisebbsĂ©gi (etnikai) mozgalmak Ă©s pártok programjainak, választĂłi bázisának, koalĂciĂłs potenciáljának, kormányzati Ă©s ellenzĂ©ki tevĂ©kenysĂ©gĂ©nek elemzĂ©se, valamint a többsĂ©gi pártok Ă©s kormányok viszonyulásának vizsgálata alapján a legfontosabb kutatási eredmĂ©nyeket a következĹ‘kĂ©ppen foglalhatjuk össze. Ezek a pártok a többsĂ©g pártok rĂ©szĂ©rĹ‘l tanĂşsĂtott kirekesztĂ©s, kiszorĂtás ellenĂ©re igen eredmĂ©nyesen tudnak Ă©lni az etnicitás politikai tartalmaival. Az átlagosnál stabilabb választĂłi bázisukat jĂłrĂ©szt etnikai jellegű politikai ĂĽzenetekkel (pl. anyanyelvi, kulturális jogok, kisebbsĂ©gvĂ©delem) kĂ©pesek megtartani Ă©s hatĂ©konyan mobilizálni. A nyugat-eurĂłpai tĂpusĂş etnoregionális pártokhoz hasonlĂłan az etnikai Ă©s regionális Ă©rdekek egyĂĽttes politikai megjelenĂtĂ©sĂ©vel kĂ©pesek beleszĂłlni az országos, illetve többsĂ©gi pártviszonyok alakulásába. A pártok ideolĂłgiai, politikai programorientáciĂłja, a kisebbsĂ©gi önszervezĹ‘dĂ©si modellek közti választás mĂłdja, azt jelzi, hogy az autonomista, konszocionális vagy Ă©ppen a participáciĂłs törekvĂ©sek ötvözĹ‘dĂ©se jellemzi működĂ©sĂĽket. | A kutatási program az eurĂłpai etnikai Ă©s etnogregionális mozgalmak, pártok szakirodalmábĂłl kiindulva a bulgáriai török, a romániai, szerbiai, szlovákiai magyar parlamenti pártokat vizsgálta. A kisebbsĂ©gi (etnikai) mozgalmak Ă©s pártok programjainak, választĂłi bázisának, koalĂciĂłs potenciáljának, kormányzati Ă©s ellenzĂ©ki tevĂ©kenysĂ©gĂ©nek elemzĂ©se, valamint a többsĂ©gi pártok Ă©s kormányok viszonyulásának vizsgálata alapján a legfontosabb kutatási eredmĂ©nyeket a következĹ‘kĂ©ppen foglalhatjuk össze. Ezek a pártok a többsĂ©g pártok rĂ©szĂ©rĹ‘l tanĂşsĂtott kirekesztĂ©s, kiszorĂtás ellenĂ©re igen eredmĂ©nyesen tudnak Ă©lni az etnicitás politikai tartalmaival. Az átlagosnál stabilabb választĂłi bázisukat jĂłrĂ©szt etnikai jellegű politikai ĂĽzenetekkel (pl. anyanyelvi, kulturális jogok, kisebbsĂ©gvĂ©delem) kĂ©pesek megtartani Ă©s hatĂ©konyan mobilizálni. A nyugat-eurĂłpai tĂpusĂş etnoregionális pártokhoz hasonlĂłan az etnikai Ă©s regionális Ă©rdekek egyĂĽttes politikai megjelenĂtĂ©sĂ©vel kĂ©pesek beleszĂłlni az országos, illetve többsĂ©gi pártviszonyok alakulásába. A pártok ideolĂłgiai, politikai programorientáciĂłja, a kisebbsĂ©gi önszervezĹ‘dĂ©si modellek közti választás mĂłdja, azt jelzi, hogy az autonomista, konszocionális vagy Ă©ppen a participáciĂłs törekvĂ©sek ötvözĹ‘dĂ©se jellemzi működĂ©sĂĽket
Prevailing identity structures and competing ethnopolitical strategies in Transylvania
In spite of the remarkable political mobilization and disciplined ethnic voting of the Hungarian minority in Romania, major political objectives, seen by the political elite of the community as critical for the cultural reproduction of Hungarians in Romania, have proven to be unreachable since 1989 through the instruments of participation in the country’s political life. The paper explores the historical and contemporary reasons that contributed to this failure, and identifies conditions that could trigger a change. Various political projects of the Hungarians in Transylvania seeking integration on their own terms into the Romanian state since 1920, together with the circumstances that lead to their failure, are critically assessed. Based on considerable research conducted between 1995 and 2006, conflicting identity structures and competing ethnopolitical strategies are identified that divide the Romanian political community along ethnic fault-lines. The consequences of the divide are evaluated from the perspective of normative political philosophy and an answer is offered to the question which refers to the grounds on which Hungarians in Transylvania could (or could not) be considered part of the Romanian political community. The paper concludes by identifying alternative ways out of the current situation
Central and Local Public Administration in the Dynamics of Inter-Ethnic Relations in Romania
This paper attempts to reveal the the role of central governments, represented by the deconcentrated (territorial) governmental institutions, and the local governments’ public policies in ethnically mixed areas of Romania, in influencing the development of inter-ethnic relations in general, and the occasional ethnic bias that can be observed at the local level, in particular. The main research questions are: in what conditions do local governments improve or worsen inter-ethnic relations in Romania? In what conditions can the central government mitigate the local ethnic tensions and conflicts? In Romania, the ethnic minority issues local governments are confronted with spring from two main sources of tension: the tension between the Romanians and the Hungarians, and the tension between the local (relative) majority and the Roma communities. The two types of relations are quite different in nature, though some similarities do exist, and are not insignificant. In this paper we will focus on the relationship between the Romanians and the Hungarians. In this respect we will distinguish between two levels of the ethnic minority issue: the national level and the local level. At the local level, the minority community is represented by the ethnic community that is statistically in minority in that settlement. In this sense the ethnic Romanians can form a minority community in some municipalities of Romania, but we keep in mind that their situation is not the same as that of the national minorities, in the more common definition.</p