Publications of Bozóki, A.

A stabilitás illúziója a válságot stabilizálja

The Illusion of Stability Stabilizes the Crisis

Kultúra és esélyegyenlőség

Conference proceedings. Pécs, October 2007.

Consolidation or Second Revolution? : The Emergence of the New Right in Hungary

The political turn of 1998 in post-transition Hungary marked the beginning of a new era: the rise of the New Right. Fidesz, which used to be a liberal party during the regime change of 1989, later changed its political stance. Under the presidency of Viktor Orban, Fidesz became a centre-right party by adopting a mixed ideology that contained contradictory elements. The reason for Fidesz's electoral success in 1998 was that it responded to the social need for order and democratic consolidation after the turbulent years of political and economic transformation. However, the years when Fidesz governed Hungary (1998-2002) could be characterized by both conservative consolidation and populist mass mobilization. Voters could not fully understand why the rhetoric of 'second revolution' would lead to the consolidation of democracy. This sort of contradictory agenda-setting from above alienated the majority of voters in the 2002 elections so Fidesz was replaced by the returning MSZP-SZDSZ left-liberal coalition government. Despite two electoral losses (2002 and 2006), Fidesz created a second political culture, an alternative polity that established itself as the Hungarian version of the New Right, a mixture of populism, conservatism, and plebeian, redistributionist, economic nationalism. The emergence of the Hungarian New Right reinterpreted social conflicts, and sharpened political division in the society. Adapted from the source document.

Consolidation or Second Revolution? The Emergence of the New Right in Hungary

The political turn of 1998 in post-transition Hungary marked the beginning of a new era: the rise of the New Right. Fidesz, which used to be a liberal party during the regime change of 1989, later changed its political stance. Under the presidency of Viktor Orba´n, Fidesz became a centre-right party by adopting a mixed ideology that contained contradictory elements. The reason for Fidesz’s electoral success in 1998 was that it responded to the social need for order and democratic consolidation after the turbulent years of political and economic transformation. However, the years when Fidesz governed Hungary (1998–2002) could be characterized by both conservative consolidation and populist mass mobilization. Voters could not fully understand why the rhetoric of ‘second revolution’ would lead to the consolidation of democracy. This sort of contradictory agenda-setting from above alienated the majority of voters in the 2002 elections so Fidesz was replaced by the returning MSZP–SZDSZ left-liberal coalition government. Despite two electoral losses (2002 and 2006), Fidesz created a second political culture, an alternative polity that established itself as the Hungarian version of the New Right, a mixture of populism, conservatism, and plebeian, redistributionist, economic nationalism. The emergence of the Hungarian New Right reinterpreted social conflicts, and sharpened political division in the society.

Anarcho-demokraták : az anarchizmus elmélete és magyarországi története

Anarcho-democrats: the theory of anarchism and its history in Hungary

Erotikus? Katolikus? Politikus?

Viszonválasz György Péternek (Szex hadiállapot idején – 2005. november)

Két pályaív

Two Career Paths

Theoretical Interpretations of Elite Change in East Central Europe

Elite theory enjoyed a remarkable revival in Central & Eastern Europe, & also in international social science research, during the 1990s. Many researchers coming from different schools of thought turned to the analysis of rapid political & social changes & ended up doing centered research. Since democratic transition & elite transformation seemed to be parallel processes, it was understandable that sociologists & political scientists of the region started to use elite theory. The idea of "third wave" of democratization advanced a reduced, more synthetic, "exportable" understanding of democracy in the political science literature. The main focus of social sciences shifted from structures to actors, from path dependency to institutional choices. Transitions, roundtable negotiations, institution-building, constitution-making, compromise-seeking, pact-making, pact-breaking, strategic choices -- all of these underlined the importance of elites & research on them. Elite settlements were seen as alternatives of social revolution. According to a widely shared view, democratic institutions came into existence through negotiations & compromises among political elites calculating their own interests & desires. The elite settlement approach was then followed by some important contributions in transitology which described the process of regime change largely as "elite games." By offering a systematic overview of the theoretical interpretations of elite change from New Class theory to recent theorizing of elite change (conversion of capital, reproduction, circulation, political capitalism, technocratic continuity, three elites & the like), the paper also gives an account of the state of the arts in elite studies in different new democracies of Central & Eastern Europe. 4 Tables, 2 Figures, 188 References. Adapted from the source document.

Az MSZP második visszatérése és a rendszerváltás értelmezései

The second return of the MSZP and the interpretations of regime change

Party-System and Public Discourse: The Hungarian Semi-Loyal Parties

The article provides an analysis of semi-loyal par ties based on the discussion of Hungarian politics. The following issue is being addressed: What is the situation with those semi-loyal parties that appear to be fully participating in democracy? It is argued, that despite being marginalized politically, semiloyal parties might exercise a significant influence over public discourse.

Success Stories : Lessons of Democratization in Central Europe

The article analyzes the meaning and modes of these revolutionary changes of 1989 by focusing on the nature of the roundtable talks and their impact on the subsequent democratic regime.The fact that countries of Central Europe became new democracies is not attributable to a single factor only. There are numerous internal and external causes that brought about the collapse of the old regime in this particular way, in this particular time. As far as the internal causes are concerned, one must stress 1. the impact of previous revolutions and reform attempts, 2. the diminishing performance of the economy, 3. the exhaustion of the social reserves of the regime, 4. the disintegration of the ideology, and 5. the willingness to compromise on the part of the new and the old elite. Among the most important external factors, one must number 1. the defeat in the Cold War, 2. the crippling consequences of the arms race, 3. the social and ethnic conflicts that made the Eastern Bloc bursting at the seams, 4. the coordinated, evolutionist strategies of the democratic opposition in a number of these countries, 5. the corresponding, human rights-based foreign policies of the Western countries initiated buys President Carter in the 1970s, and finally, 6. the rise to the top of the Soviet party hierarchy of First Secretary Gorbachev who introduced a style of politics open to compromise.

Book review : Central European Ways to Democracy : Studies in Public Policy

Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia are by most international standards liberal democracies. But these democracies still are relatively poor compared to West European countries. By examining the success of democratization in unfavourable economic conditions the legacy of the transition process as well as the legacies of pre-communist and communist regimes are shown. The Central European pattern of transition can be summarized by two ideas: non-violence and negotiation. The transition socialized political and social actors to value peace and self-limited political behavior: both experiences proved useful in later stages of democratization too. Among pre-communist legacies institution-building has been emphasized in the revolutionary tradition. People learned that breaking with the past through rebellion was not enough; short term victories can easily be turned to defeats. Only building a new institutional order can guarantee the longer term success of revolutionary change. Among many negative ones, the few positive legacies of communism -- social mobilization, industrialization, high literacy rate, urbanization, and a curious form of female emancipation -- created some favorable social requisites for democratic political change.

Book review : Vitatkozó diktatúra

This article reviews the book of Ervin Csizmadia: Diskurzus és diktatúra.