Stalin's Legacy in Romania

The Hungarian Autonomous Region, 1952–1960

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Former Soviet Republics, Eastern Europe, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International
Cover of the book Stalin's Legacy in Romania by Stefano Bottoni, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stefano Bottoni ISBN: 9781498551229
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: May 29, 2018
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Stefano Bottoni
ISBN: 9781498551229
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: May 29, 2018
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

This study explores the little-known history of the Hungarian Autonomous Region (HAR), a Soviet-style territorial autonomy that was granted in Romania on Stalin’s personal advice to the Hungarian Székely community in the summer of 1952. Since 1945, a complex mechanism of ethnic balance and power-sharing helped the Romanian Communist Party (RCP) to strengthen—with Soviet assistance—its political legitimacy among different national and social groups. The communist national policy followed an integrative approach toward most minority communities, with the relevant exception of Germans, who were declared collectively responsible for the German occupation and were denied political and even civil rights until 1948. The Hungarians of Transylvania were provided with full civil, political, cultural, and linguistic rights to encourage political integration. The ideological premises of the Hungarian Autonomous Region followed the Bolshevik pattern of territorial autonomy elaborated by Lenin and Stalin in the early 1920s. The Hungarians of Székely Land would become a “titular nationality” provided with extensive cultural rights. Yet, on the other hand, the Romanian central power used the region as an instrument of political and social integration for the Hungarian minority into the communist state. The management of ethnic conflicts increased the ability of the PCR to control the territory and, at the same time, provided the ruling party with a useful precedent for the far larger “nationalization” of the Romanian communist regime which, starting from the late 1950s, resulted in “ethnicized” communism, an aim achieved without making use of pre-war nationalist discourse. After the Hungarian revolution of 1956, repression affected a great number of Hungarian individuals accused of nationalism and irredentism. In 1960 the HAR also suffered territorial reshaping, its Hungarian-born political leadership being replaced by ethnic Romanian cadres. The decisive shift from a class dictatorship toward an ethnicized totalitarian regime was the product of the Gheorghiu-Dej era and, as such, it represented the logical outcome of a long-standing ideological fouling of Romanian communism and more traditional state-building ideologies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This study explores the little-known history of the Hungarian Autonomous Region (HAR), a Soviet-style territorial autonomy that was granted in Romania on Stalin’s personal advice to the Hungarian Székely community in the summer of 1952. Since 1945, a complex mechanism of ethnic balance and power-sharing helped the Romanian Communist Party (RCP) to strengthen—with Soviet assistance—its political legitimacy among different national and social groups. The communist national policy followed an integrative approach toward most minority communities, with the relevant exception of Germans, who were declared collectively responsible for the German occupation and were denied political and even civil rights until 1948. The Hungarians of Transylvania were provided with full civil, political, cultural, and linguistic rights to encourage political integration. The ideological premises of the Hungarian Autonomous Region followed the Bolshevik pattern of territorial autonomy elaborated by Lenin and Stalin in the early 1920s. The Hungarians of Székely Land would become a “titular nationality” provided with extensive cultural rights. Yet, on the other hand, the Romanian central power used the region as an instrument of political and social integration for the Hungarian minority into the communist state. The management of ethnic conflicts increased the ability of the PCR to control the territory and, at the same time, provided the ruling party with a useful precedent for the far larger “nationalization” of the Romanian communist regime which, starting from the late 1950s, resulted in “ethnicized” communism, an aim achieved without making use of pre-war nationalist discourse. After the Hungarian revolution of 1956, repression affected a great number of Hungarian individuals accused of nationalism and irredentism. In 1960 the HAR also suffered territorial reshaping, its Hungarian-born political leadership being replaced by ethnic Romanian cadres. The decisive shift from a class dictatorship toward an ethnicized totalitarian regime was the product of the Gheorghiu-Dej era and, as such, it represented the logical outcome of a long-standing ideological fouling of Romanian communism and more traditional state-building ideologies.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Gadamer's Ethics of Play by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Sacrifice and Value by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Philosophy Imprisoned by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Counterterrorism and Threat Finance Analysis during Wartime by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Biosocial Synchrony on Sumba by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book The First to Cry Down Injustice? by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Max Weber and Charles Peirce by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Iraq by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book The Role of Emotions in Preventative Health Communication by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Malay Kingship in Kedah by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Leadership in a Changing World by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Utilitarianism and Empire by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Privilege and Liberty and Other Essays in Political Philosophy by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Rustics and Politics by Stefano Bottoni
Cover of the book Urban Reform and Sexual Vice in Progressive-Era Philadelphia by Stefano Bottoni
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy