Nation-Building and Contested Identities - MEK

ZOLTÁN KÁNTORprocedure of issuing the cards also suggests the unity of the ethnoculturalnation. The cooperation of the evaluating organizations and the Hungarianstate reinforces this institutionalization.Possible Consequences of the “Status Law”Several East-Central European states have already adopted, or are planningto adopt, similar laws. However, the Hungarian “Status Law” was broadlycriticized and attacked. Especially the Slovakian and the Romanian governmentsexpressed their concerns regarding the law. They stated that, byimplementing the law, Hungary discriminates on an ethnocultural basisamong citizens of the neighboring states, it seeks to establish state institutions(the so-called evaluating commissions) on the territory of other states,and that some provisions of the law, especially those regarding the supportof profit-oriented enterprises, contradict the principles of a market economy.These governments also resented that Hungary did not inform themabout the project of the law. One can debate whether these arguments arevalid, but it is highly probable that, given the historical tensions betweenHungary and most of its neighbors, the law will have some negative effectson Hungary’s relationship with neighboring states. However, this particularlaw does not create new tensions, it only reinforces old ones.From another angle, it is obvious that this law creates tensionsamong different Hungarian organizations in the neighboring countries aswell. There are already ongoing internal debates on the composition ofthe future evaluating commissions. Since Hungary will finance theseorganizations and important financial resources will be distributed, thosewho control this process can easily become dominant in a particular Hungarianpolitical sphere. Furthermore, the acquired information is anotherimportant source of power.In summary, the idea of such a law is, on the one hand, to expressthe (ethnocultural) unity of the Hungarians living in the Carpathian Basin,and, on the other hand, to enhance the nationalizing process of the Hungariannational minorities. On a theoretical level, two aspects are important.The first is that this law establishes a relationship between the Hungarianindividual and the Hungarian state. The second one is that itredefines, and re-institutionalizes the Hungarian conception of the nation.After 1990, the Hungarian state has been financing the political, cultural,and educational institutions of Hungarians living abroad. The “StatusLaw” adds another aspect, by creating a relationship between the Hungarianstate and individuals belonging to the ethnoculturally defined Hungariannation, that is similar to the relationship between Hungarian citizens and theHungarian state. However, Hungarians from neighboring countries will not268