Abstract

If we assume that European integration is beneficial for the continent, is Hungarian nationalism an asset or liability for Europe in this process? This essay addresses this admittedly provocative question by way of will then give a brief survey of major turning points in Hungarian history and of influential historical narratives of, respectively, the Hungarian people and the Hungarian state. These two narratives do not overlap, and their differences give a particular dynamism to Hungarian collective identity in general and Hungarian nationalism in particular. This leads into a number of case studies of the instrumentalization of Hungarian nationalism in Hungarian politics, both before and after the collapse of the Soviet Bloc. The essay concludes with a balance sheet of Hungarian nationalism in the light of the opening question.

Keywords: nationalism, Hungary, Hungarian nationalism, Europe, nation, state, identity

How to Cite:

Pók, A., (2023) “Asset or liability for Europe? Faces of Hungarian Nationalism”, NISE Essays 8(1), 60. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/nise.90269