From goulash communism to goulash populism: the unwanted legacy of Hungarian reform socialism

Benczés, István

doi:10.1080/14631377.2015.1124557

Cited by 38 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Production and orientation towards the future -the mainstays of most communist economies-were less strongly privileged in Hungary, where consumption and the provision of material well-being in the present enjoyed significant importance. Thus, argues Benczes (2016), the real turning point for Hungary was not 1989-1991 but 1968, which marked the introduction of economic reform policies.…”

Section: Privileging Rupturementioning

confidence: 99%

Goodbye, Postsocialism!

Müller¹

2019

Europe-Asia Studies

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This article assesses the trajectory of postsocialism as a concept and mounts a fivefold critique of postsocialism as: referring to a vanishing object; emphasising rupture over continuity; falling into a territorial trap; issuing from orientalising knowledge construction; and constraining political futures. This critique serves to sketch the contours of an alternative project that still recognises difference but foregrounds links and continuities, develops a political edge, and theorises not just about but with and from this part of the world. EAST BERLIN IN 1989. A SINGLE MOTHER OF TWO AND FERVENT SOCIALIST falls into a coma just before the Berlin Wall comes down. When she wakes up again, Germany has been reunified and the socialist regime toppled. But because her condition is so unstable, her family decide not to confront her with the truth. Instead, they start to enact a charade that keeps up the semblance that socialism is still alive. The plot of Goodbye, Lenin! (2003), a poignant film about the force and demise of socialism as a regime, could equally well be a parable for the concept that described what came after: postsocialism. Socialism, the regime, and postsocialism, the concept, both started with the expectation of epochal change, lost touch with people's lives on the ground, disappointed the emancipatory hopes attached to them and then kept on going as though nothing had happened, because no alternative was in sight. When the socialist regimes collapsed in sequence between 1989 and 1992, it took the world by surprise. Observers had diagnosed the malaise of socialist economies since at least the 1970s, but few had expected an imminent implosion in quick succession (Kotkin 2008, pp. 4-5; Leon 2011). Uncertainty reigned as to what would follow in the wake of socialism. Would market reforms bring about capitalism triumphant, in a further expansion of global neoliberalism? That is certainly what Gayatri Spivak saw in the 1990s when she wrote in her Critique of Postcolonial Reason that 'today in the post-Soviet world, privatization is the

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Section: Privileging Rupturementioning

confidence: 99%

Goodbye, Postsocialism!

Müller¹

2019

Europe-Asia Studies

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“…When assuming power in 2010, the center-right Fidesz government found itself under the dual pressure of unrealistic domestic economic expectations, on the one hand, and the external pressure of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for further consolidation of public finances, on the other. 54 Therefore, Andrew Vajna's promise to transform foreign wage-work into a vital economic field was especially well received by the government. In January 2019, around ten thousand people were directly and indirectly employed by the film industry.…”

Section: The Fall and Revival Of Wage-work In Post-socialist Hungarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Set for Success: Hollywood Runaway Productions in Socialist and Post-socialist Hungary

Sayfo¹

2020

Media Industries Journal

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In the past decade, Hungary has grown from a peripheral destination of Hollywood runaway productions into the second biggest European filming location. At the same time, after decades of absence from the domestic and international scenes, local productions have made a return, filling national cinemas and winning prestigious international awards. This article investigates the development of Hollywood runaway production in socialist and post-socialist Hungary. On the macro level, it explores how political and economic tendencies, together with individual agents' networks, affected local industries and Hollywood runaway production from the 1960s to the present. On the micro level, the article looks at Hungarian crew members' self-perceptions and professional identity formation. Doing so, the article strives to reveal the possible links between the two tiers and the effect of wage-work on domestic production.

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“…After the 1956 failed revolution, the initially unpopular Kádár regime achieved social consolidation by making welfare concessions to the masses. Trade-offs between political loyalty and economic benefits, "Gulash communism" became a systematic feature of Hungary for the next 30 years, creating an increasingly paternalistic-populistic embeddedness for upcoming governments (Benczes 2016). The major expectation from regime change in the 1990s was not necessarily related to political freedoms, but to higher living standards, preserving broad social guarantees (a sort of "Gulash capitalism").…”

Section: General Conditions Of Energy Governance Energy Legaciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Governance in Hungary

Szabó¹,

Weiner

Deák³

2020

Handbook of Energy Governance in Europe

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Hungarian energy governance conveys a unique disposition, filled with contradictions, lacking clarity, but reflecting centralized control at the highest echelons of politics. Like many of its Central and Eastern European (CEE) neighbors, it is still entrenched in preexisting producer-consumer relations that shape its amicable relations with Russia, while its accession to the European Union has led it to take on disruptive climate and energy policy targets. The country's energy transition has been unfolding slowly, as the government maintains a moderate pace of action. The diffusion of renewables continues to unfold in the shadow of other historical legacies, most prominently Russia-sourced nuclear power technology, natural gas, and oil. Power and control over energy corporations is concentrated in the hands of those closely aligned with the government, and multilevel governance is subordinated to anticipate or execute the objectives dictated by political leaders. Challenges mount in the Hungarian sector as we move towards the 2030 and 2050 EU decarbonization targets, which will pressure the government to implement much more disruptive measures, severing and rewriting historical energy based ties.

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From goulash communism to goulash populism: the unwanted legacy of Hungarian reform socialism

Cited by 38 publications

References 30 publications

Goodbye, Postsocialism!

Goodbye, Postsocialism!

Set for Success: Hollywood Runaway Productions in Socialist and Post-socialist Hungary

Energy Governance in Hungary

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