NRDO

Gabriel Andreescu, For a thorough research of the Romanian-Hungarian relationship during the Centennials. Alienation, emancipation, cohesion and the cultural nation (I)

Rezumat: This study discusses the first of a series of topics that I believe are relevant to the recent developments in the Romanian-Hungarian relationship. The background for the Romanian-Hungarian relationship has changed profoundly in the last few years. The factors that sparked these changes include the fact that many Romanians of Hungarian ethnicity have obtained the Hungarian citizenship, the increase in Hungarian investment in Transylvania, the influence of FIDESZ among Hungarian ethnics, the alienation of the Hungarian community in Romania along an increase in its contacts with Hungary and, at the same time, its emancipation from the Romanian state. Few investigations have looked at these topics. The many, mostly ideological, texts written on the occasion of the two centennials, of the Great Unification and the Trianon Treaty, cannot take the place of the research that needs to inform adequate policies towards the new reality of the Romanian-Hungarian relationship. The paradigm of the “Romanian-Hungarian reconciliation” that dominated the '90s and the beginning of the '2000s seems obsolete. This first part of the study is an introduction to the issue of “the missing research”. My analysis looks at the relevant actors, decision-makers and those influential in forming public opinion, that affect the relationship Romania has with its Hungarian minority and with Hungary.

Cuvinte cheie: research, centennial, Trianon, the Great Unification, Hungarian minority, Securitate, Romanian Academy

Adrian Szelmenczi, The Hungarian minority in the legislative initiatives of the Romanian Parliament. Case studies between 2012 and 2020

Rezumat: This article reviews the legislative initiatives that I flagged as impacting the rights of national minorities or the relationship between minority communities and the majority. The Hungarian minority is particularly concerned as, according to my empirical data, it appears to be a preoccupation and a target for some members of the Romanian Parliament during the last two terms. I followed the main steps of the legislative process, from the submission of the draft law to the final vote in the Romanian Parliament, and, where appropriate, its promulgation: the motivation submitted by the sponsor of the law, the opinion of the Legislative Council, the point of view of the Romanian Government and the result of the vote. My analysis has identified 13 draft laws that meet the criteria described above, 10 of which involve regulations that are more restrictive regarding the Hungarian minority than current regulations or add completely new regulations. With the exception of a single draft law (regarding the establishment of June 4 as the Day of the Trianon Treaty), all the others have been voted down by an overwhelming majority.

Cuvinte cheie: national minorities, human rights, Hungarians, NCCD, nationalism, chauvinism, legislative proposal