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The More it Changes, the More Hungarian Nationalism Remains the Same
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2009
Extract
The literature dealing with Magyar nationalism is extensive. The general impression created by its manifestations during the last roughly two and a half centuries has been that it had been aggressive and disrespectful of the rights of other nations living in the lands of historical Hungary, occasionally even bordering on the criminal. This evaluation did not originate with R. W. Seton-Watson, but was certainly disseminated widely by the works he published under the pen names of Viator and Scotus Viator.2 While some of the judgments passed on Magyar nationalism were exaggerated and even unjustified, the correctness of the general picture cannot be denied. The actions of Hungary's politicians and the views expressed by the country's publicists and literary figures support the negative evaluation of some of the most crucial manifestations of Magyar nationalism. The following pages are presented not in an attempt to excuse the general tone and occasional excesses of Hungarian nationalism, but to try to answer only one question: why did Magyar nationalism take the forms that it did?
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- Forum: Hungarian Nationalism
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- Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 2000
References
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