Nation-Building and Contested Identities - MEK

Nationhood and Identitypared to 31.3% of Hungarians, were short of money for paying house utilities.These differences can be explained by different cultural practices.26 I refer to Romanians from Szeklerland, or living in localities where Hungariansconstitute a majority of the population. The following data from Ethnobarometerindicates this. Asked whether nationality makes a difference in gettinga job, 25.9% of Romanians in Muntenia believed that Romanians wereadvantaged, 2.4% said that they were disadvantaged, and 63.9% claimed thatnationality did not matter. At the same time, only 5.6% of Romanians fromSzeklerland believed that Romanians were advantaged, 30% claimed that theywere disadvantaged, and 47% said that nationality did not matter. Most of theRomanians from Szeklerland also believed that Hungarians were advantagedin getting a job (33.4%), while only 2.1% thought that they were disadvantaged.27 The things that make Hungarians ashamed of being Romanian citizens mayrange from government activity to dirtiness of one’s locality and manners offellow citizens. Everyday interaction indicates that most of them can bereduced to (negative) stereotypes ascribed to Romanians.28 According to Ethnobarometer: Interethnic Relations in Romania data, 90.3% ofHungarians in Romania believe that the Hungarian state should grant Hungariancitizenship to Hungarians in Romania, compared to 47% of Romanianswho believe so, and 87.5% of Hungarians in Romania think that the Hungarianstate should give scholarships to Hungarian students in Romania, comparedto 62.6% of Romanians who share the same belief.29 Hungarians from Szeklerland sometimes refer to Hungarians from Hungary as“pale faces,” as opposed to “natives.” This is one way to express the distinctivenessof their Transylvanian identity: they are “genuine” Hungarians, they speakthe “purest” Hungarian language, they still cherish the ancient traditions, theyare less corrupted by the negative elements of Western civilization, etc. Personalcommunication by István Horváth.30 One should be cautious with respect to these figures, as the sample was toosmall to provide valid results at area level.31 I provide data from a previous research project, conducted in 1997, in my“Between Civic and National Identity” published in Irina Culic, IstvánHorváth and Cristian Stan, eds., Reflections on Differences (Antwerp: IPIS,1999), pp. 13-24.32 On linguistic practices and the political significance of language use, see IstvánHorváth, “Institutions of Ethnicity” (Ph.D. Dissertation, Babeº-Bolyai University,Cluj-Napoca, 2001).33 This rhetoric is nurtured by the fear that, once approved, the Hungarianrequest for territorial autonomy will be followed by secession.34 See Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995), pp. 34-48.35 See Culic, “Between Civic and National Identity,” p. 21. The first of Decemberis the current national day of Romania, commemorating the Unification ofTransylvania with Romania. The corresponding date for Hungary is the twentiethof August, celebrating St. Steven, the first king of Hungary, who officiallyintroduced Christianity in the country.245