Hungary: history, politics, and culture

Hungary

If there is one country in the world that can claim to have definite definable start, it is Republic of Hungary. The country known as the 'Savior of Europe' and Savior of Christianity traces its roots back to the ninth century when Magyar tribes laid the foundation of a new land in middle Danube. Historian Macartney (1962) wrote: "No state in European history has a beginning so precisely definable as Hungary. It was brought into being well-nigh full-panoplied, by a single act, when the Magyars, until then a people without fixed abode, entered the basin of the middle Danube, a place at that juncture as good as master-less, and made it their home. This was in the last years of the ninth century A.D." (p. 1)

The kingdom of Hungary was however officially established in 1000 A.D with Saint King Stephen at the helm. King Stephen was particularly interested in establishing a Christian state and that was one goal he accomplished with considerable ease. Hungary was however tolerant in its stand on religion and thus many minority groups thrived in this land and continue to co-exist peacefully with dominant Catholic population. Initially Hungary was part of a triangular union with Poland and Bohemia but gradually established a separate nation. Later conquests by the Ottoman Empire left part of Hungary under direct Austrian rule. Hungary remained under Austrian Habsburg dynasty till the First World War after which it was overtaken by the Communists. However subsequent conquests and alliances with Romania and Nazi Germany saw some significant shifts in political structure and land size of Hungary. The two Great wars marked a period of intensive internal and external political and ideological conflict in Hungary. The government of Admiral Mikl's Horthy joined hands with Nazi Germany in an attempt to recover land losses but this union proved unfortunate for Horthy who was rudely replaced by Ferenc Szalasi in 1944 to avert possible defection.

Democracy and its establishment proved highly complicated tasks in Hungary where dictatorship had been the norm. Even tough the country tried to come out of the shackles of communism a few times, before the collapse of USSR in late 1980s, Hungary was pre-dominantly a communist nation with heavy Soviet presence. Back in 1982, Historian Volgyes wrote: "The realities of daily existence -- namely, the presence of sixty thousand Soviet troops and the threat of millions more -- have imposed upon Hungary an alien ideology. Communism, under Soviet tutelage, has become a state religion, a compulsory faith; a complete ideology, in Hungary. It offers a set of closely entwined premises that provides an answer for every attitude, thought, and behavior pattern." (P. 30)

However things changed gradually after the Soviet collapse as Hungary turned towards Western political ideologies. It adopted a more liberal economy and became part of the international community by joining NATO in 1999 and European Union only recently. The one-party system was also given up for a more liberal multi-party political structure.

Culture transformation has resulted with youth giving up old Communist beliefs and more people turning to the west for a new definition of fashion and freedom.

Over the years, religious practices have also undergone some changes in Hungary. The society is now more openly in favor of secularization mainly due to the collapse of old values, political and economic structure and social system.