Nation-Building and Contested Identities - MEK

ZOLTÁN KÁNTORthe EU at a considerably latter stage. 26 As a consequence, many Hungariansliving in these states will find it hard to travel to Hungary. This posesthe fear that a new Iron Curtain will separate the Hungarians from theabove-mentioned countries and their “homeland.”As a response to this new situation, some representatives of theHungarian national minorities advanced the idea of giving double citizenshipto Hungarians living in neighboring states. 27 In the electoral campaignof 1998, the present government parties also suggested double citizenshipas a solution. The idea was dropped after the elections, but, inorder to keep (partially) its promise, the government included the framingof the “Status Law” into its agenda.The newly formed government expressed the following goals regardingnational policy:The Government’s policy on ethnic Hungarian minorities in neighboringcountries aims to build and develop political, cultural, and economic tiesbetween Hungary and Hungarian communities abroad as part of the generalprocess of European unification, as well as to help Hungarians livingin neighboring countries to live and prosper in their own homeland.In order to achieve this, the bonds between ethnic Hungarian minoritiesand Hungary must be settled within a framework of legislation andgovernment, so as to preserve the organic ties of Hungarian communitiesto Hungary, even after its accession to the European Union. 28This program reinforces Hungary’s special relationship with the Hungarianminorities in the neighboring countries, but emphasizes the importance ofsettling this relationship within the legislative framework. In addition, forthe first time it is expressed that, similar to the accession to the EU, theorganic ties of the Hungarian communities and Hungary are of primaryimportance. The official argument for framing the “Law on HungariansLiving in Neighboring Countries” is:The main aim of this Law is to ensure special relations of the Hungariansliving in neighboring countries to their kin state, the promotion andpreservation of their national identity and well-being within their homecountry; therefore to contribute to the political and economic stability ofthe region, and through this to contribute to the Euro-Atlantic integrationprocess of Hungary in particular and the Central and Eastern Europeanregion in general. In this context the Law promotes the preservationof the cultural and social cohesion as well as the economicconsolidation of Hungarian communities abroad. 29262