Nation-Building and Contested Identities: Romanian & Hungarian ...

ZOLTÁN KÁNTORis considered to be needless to support them with Hungarian state resources.This argument seems logical, but theoretically it undermines the coherence ofthe definition of nationhood. It seems as if Hungary applied an ethnoculturaldefinition of the nation only selectively, in view of the Hungarians living inthe neighboring states.The debate over the objective and subjective criteria of belonging tothe Hungarian nation brought into light an old, and irresolvable, disputeabout the definition of the nation. While the opposition accepts only self-definitionas a basis of stating somebody’s Hungarianness, the government partiesargue that it is necessary to include also “objective criteria.” They arguethat, in the case of self-definition, many non-Hungarians would declarethemselves Hungarian in order to benefit from the privileges accorded by thelaw, and this exceeds the present economic capacity of Hungary. To avoid theperils of self-definition, the Hungarian Standing Conference (HSC) recommendedthe following criteria:In order for the recommendation to be issued, written identification withthe Hungarian nation, application for the recommendation and knowledgeof the Hungarian language are required.Under special appraisement, the recommending organization may grantan exemption from the Hungarian language requirement if the applicantmeets one of the criteria below:a. he or she is considered Hungarian by the country of citizenship,b. one of his or her parents is of Hungarian nationality,c. his or her spouse possesses a Hungarian Card,d. he or she is a member of a registered Hungarian organization,e. he or she is treated as Hungarian by a church registry,f. he or she has attended, at least, for four years a public educationalinstitution where the language of tuition was Hungarian, or hisor her child or children attend(s) such an institution.Should the applicants be capable of providing evidence of meeting theabove-listed criteria, the recommendation has to be issued irrespective ofhis or her origin, religion or political affiliation. 35Finally this recommendations were framed in the law:§ 21 (1) The evaluating authority will issue the ID if:a. the applicant has a recommendation issued by an organization representingthe Hungarian communities in that particular neighboringstate and being recognized by the Government of the Republic ofHungary as a recommending organization,266