Yesterday, we left Vienna and traveled to
Budapest, Hungary, our fifth stop before the last. Our last stop is Prague and
then we are heading home.
Today we are exploring political, cultural, and ethnic diversity in Hungary and the impacts of Eastern/Central European politics. Hungary is a homogeneous nation, 93% being Hungarian. This was not the case however before 1920. Hungary was much more diverse with thirteen nationalities, some being German and Jewish people.
The World War I was very costly to Hungary, it lost significant portions of its territories and her ethnic Hungarian population. Sadly, today, most Hungarians are against immigration and refugees from other countries, especially from certain nationalities. Rights of minorities are strained. There are anti-Semitic sentiments and aggression against Romani (Gypsies) which constitute the largest minority group in Hungary. In a study done recently, 60% of Hungarians said they were against Pirezian immigration, a fictional ethnic group.
Hungary was on the side of Nazi's during World War 2 and a large population of Jews were prosecuted. After World War 2, Hungary was ruled by a Soviet style communism. Everyone had to learn Russian at the time, but today no one speaks Russian as a reaction. Hungary has an aging population and widening gap between the rich and the poor. It is dependent on Russia for energy. Being a landlocked country is a big disadvantage to Hungary economically.
It has been 10 years since Hungary joined the EU. Despite of that Hungary economically is not yet in the right place. Because Turkey was with the West during Cold War, Hungary thinks Turkey is a Western country. Hungary also believes that Turkey is an important country and it is a mistake for the EU to refuse Turkey on the basis of not being a Western country.
Today we are exploring political, cultural, and ethnic diversity in Hungary and the impacts of Eastern/Central European politics. Hungary is a homogeneous nation, 93% being Hungarian. This was not the case however before 1920. Hungary was much more diverse with thirteen nationalities, some being German and Jewish people.
The World War I was very costly to Hungary, it lost significant portions of its territories and her ethnic Hungarian population. Sadly, today, most Hungarians are against immigration and refugees from other countries, especially from certain nationalities. Rights of minorities are strained. There are anti-Semitic sentiments and aggression against Romani (Gypsies) which constitute the largest minority group in Hungary. In a study done recently, 60% of Hungarians said they were against Pirezian immigration, a fictional ethnic group.
Hungary was on the side of Nazi's during World War 2 and a large population of Jews were prosecuted. After World War 2, Hungary was ruled by a Soviet style communism. Everyone had to learn Russian at the time, but today no one speaks Russian as a reaction. Hungary has an aging population and widening gap between the rich and the poor. It is dependent on Russia for energy. Being a landlocked country is a big disadvantage to Hungary economically.
It has been 10 years since Hungary joined the EU. Despite of that Hungary economically is not yet in the right place. Because Turkey was with the West during Cold War, Hungary thinks Turkey is a Western country. Hungary also believes that Turkey is an important country and it is a mistake for the EU to refuse Turkey on the basis of not being a Western country.
Yurttas Journal Entry 8/5/2014
Second day in Budapest, we are learning about
the political system and political attitudes in Hungary. Hungarian system is
similar to German chancellor government. Prime Minister and his cabinet form
the executive office. The Prime Minister is the most powerful executive. Parliament has little influence on governing, but shares the legislative powers with the government. The ruling party is the conservative Fidesz. There are two larger opposition parties,
Hungarian Socialist Party and Jobbik. Jobbik is an extremist party, on the far
right. Fidesz seems to be open to EU policiesö but can be confrontational and
wouldn't hesitate to pick fights with the EU as the voting record shows.
After the collapse of communism, the regime change was smooth during 1989-1990. Hungary wanted to have a political system like Germany or Austria, but the foundations were not there at the time for such a change. Middle class, basic foundation for democracy, was not existent. EU membership and investments helped to promote the middle class. Germany is very important to Hungarian economy. Hungary is a subcontractor to Germany.
Hungary wants to remain a good ally to the US as long as the US invests politically and economically in Hungary. The support for the US however is wavering in Hungary and the EU due to decreasing investments, scandals and not so popular US foreign policies. One interesting fact is that Hungary is the second least religious country next to Czech Republic.
After the collapse of communism, the regime change was smooth during 1989-1990. Hungary wanted to have a political system like Germany or Austria, but the foundations were not there at the time for such a change. Middle class, basic foundation for democracy, was not existent. EU membership and investments helped to promote the middle class. Germany is very important to Hungarian economy. Hungary is a subcontractor to Germany.
Hungary wants to remain a good ally to the US as long as the US invests politically and economically in Hungary. The support for the US however is wavering in Hungary and the EU due to decreasing investments, scandals and not so popular US foreign policies. One interesting fact is that Hungary is the second least religious country next to Czech Republic.
Yurttas Journal Entry 8/6/2014
Last day in Budapest, we learned more about
EU/Hungary relationship. Relationship of Hungary with the EU is bittersweet
after ten years. During last ten years, the countries that were accepted to the
EU were less developed than older member states, mostly Warsaw Pact
countries. They needed a period of
preparation, association with the EU, before being fully implemented into the
EU economic system in order to thrive and compete successfully. In that sense
Hungary may be considered a trend-setter in establishing market economy and
democratic rights among Central/Eastern European countries.
The change that took place in Hungary had three dimensions, economic, political, and social. Economic change involved changing from state-controlled to market economy and from state-owned to private owned businesses. The Soviet style communism was abandoned and democratization took place. Political power was no longer in one position, but democratic institutions with checks and balances were established. Social change took place in form of investing in the people and creating opportunities for them to learn modern skills to be able to compete in the European job market.
Budapest is much more different than rest of the country, more westernized, like Istanbul to the rest of Turkey. Hungarians believe that they have been empowered by being a part of the EU. Half of the population express happiness for being in the EU. Past negative experiences with the West during the Soviet era do not seem to resonate with Hungarians any longer. Although, recent actions of Putin may cause some to fear that it could again happen. A new constitution has been rewritten and approved by a two-thirds majority. Victor Orban, the Prime Minister, wants to walk in the foot steps of Vladimir Putin and came out and said that he wanted to create an "illiberal democracy." Hungary is moving closer to Russians again. Orban's government cannot sustain its current route however. This experiment would either result with a political collapse or Hungary's leaving the EU.
The change that took place in Hungary had three dimensions, economic, political, and social. Economic change involved changing from state-controlled to market economy and from state-owned to private owned businesses. The Soviet style communism was abandoned and democratization took place. Political power was no longer in one position, but democratic institutions with checks and balances were established. Social change took place in form of investing in the people and creating opportunities for them to learn modern skills to be able to compete in the European job market.
Budapest is much more different than rest of the country, more westernized, like Istanbul to the rest of Turkey. Hungarians believe that they have been empowered by being a part of the EU. Half of the population express happiness for being in the EU. Past negative experiences with the West during the Soviet era do not seem to resonate with Hungarians any longer. Although, recent actions of Putin may cause some to fear that it could again happen. A new constitution has been rewritten and approved by a two-thirds majority. Victor Orban, the Prime Minister, wants to walk in the foot steps of Vladimir Putin and came out and said that he wanted to create an "illiberal democracy." Hungary is moving closer to Russians again. Orban's government cannot sustain its current route however. This experiment would either result with a political collapse or Hungary's leaving the EU.
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