E.Saltman Final Thesis Submission
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TURNING RIGHT A Case Study on Contemporary Political Socialization of the Hungarian Youth Erin Marie Saltman School of Slavonic and East European Studies University College London (UCL) Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science 2014 1 I, Erin Marie Saltman, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. X__________________________________ 2 ABSTRACT Young Central and Eastern Europeans are growing up in newly solidifying democratic political systems with a parent generation raised under an entirely different regime. In order to comprehend future sociopolitical dynamics within these countries it is crucial to question how the youth are developing their political knowledge and how they are engaging in political activism. As such, political socialization theory provides a lens for analyzing what forms youth activism is taking as well as tracking the roots of current political trends. Political socialization, as a theory, is relatively straightforward. Experiences and influences of various agents that affect an individual in their earlier years have a significant impact on political outlooks, activism and values in later years. However, implied within this theory, ‘political socialization’ is also a process and a field of research with a variety of methods and research structures. Through primarily qualitative analysis, the research in this case study investigates the influences behind post-communist political trends among the youth, targeting the primary agents of socialization: the family unit, educational institutions and the media. These agents are analyzed in the context of developing partisanships and activism within political parties and grassroots social movements. Although socialization theory targets these agents as key actors affecting political development, there is limited previous research into multi-agent analysis, with the majority of research focusing on single agent analysis. This report also analyzes social movements as an increasingly salient agent of socialization, not traditionally targeted by previous political socialization theory. Thus, this report hopes to add to wider political socialization research as well as present a unique case study into youth political developments in a post-communist setting. Hungary is an important and timely case study, used in this report to analyze the country’s growing political shift away from liberal European values, giving preference to localized, nationalist and increasingly exclusionary politics. Larger trends of right wing and radical right voter support are also heightened among the youth population. Tracking how these shifts are developing and mainstreaming in a nation-specific context serves to better define what is a national anomaly in Hungary and what might be a predictor of larger regional or European trends. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to first and foremost give thanks to my doctoral supervisor, Dr. Seán Hanley, for his consistent and thorough guidance throughout the PhD process. His attention to detail as well as his ability to put my thesis into context within a wider framework has been of great assistance in keeping me on track with each step of my thesis, from my initial proposal through my fieldwork and throughout my writing up process. I would also like to thank my colleagues and contacts that gave their assistance during my fieldwork and data collection, particularly Dr. István Benczes for helping arrange my affiliation at Corvinus University during my fieldwork, along with Erzsébet Trautmann, Mariann Pitroff, Georgia Efremova, László Galántai, Júlia Lakatos and the Pycrofts. I am eternally grateful to all the Hungarian activists, professors and specialists who gave their time for in-depth interviews and focus groups. Special thanks as well to Eszter Tarsoly and Dóra Reichenberger for teaching me Hungarian. Eszter, without your patience, linguistic innovation and passion for the language, learning Hungarian would have been a far more difficult task. Your three years of teaching were invaluable to me not only in learning Hungarian but also in gaining a cultural understanding of the country I immersed myself in. Dóra, thank you for your lessons during my field research, tailoring each session to my research needs. Thank you also to my fellow doctoral students Soraia Tabatabai, Kristen Perrin, Lise Herman, Camille Muris-Prime, Phillip Köker and Julia Halej for creating an outlet to discuss our research in its trials and tribulations, and to Dr. Peter Duncan and Professor Martyn Rady for always having an open door. Lastly, I want to thank my family for supporting me through the PhD process. Thank you to my parents David Saltman and Kay Greenwood and to my grandparents Barbara and Paul Saltman and Marie Violet Walters for never doubting my academic path, despite it taking me so far from home. You gave me the tools to make my goals and the opportunities to enjoy the journeys that lead me towards them. Thank you Alex Dunnett for being there for me and always having a cup of tea ready. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE: Introduction to Hungary and Thesis Research 1. Introduction: ......................................................…………..….………..……….. 10 1.1. The Political System in Hungary ………………………………………. 12 1.1.1. Hungary in Transition: A Tri-Polar Beginning 1.1.2. Solidifying a Bipolar Spectrum in Hungary 1.1.3. Defining Right, Left and Other 1.2. Radicalism in Hungary: A Relevant Case Study ……………………… 33 1.2.1. Radical Right Politics in Hungary 1.2.2. Youth Support for Fidesz and Jobbik 1.2.3. Breaking Bipolarity: The Shock of 2009/2010 1.2.4. Defining a Cohort: The Politically Active Hungarian Youth 1.3. Chapter Outline ………………………………………………………... 48 2. Research Design, Methods & Theories ……………….…………….....……… 51 2.1. Research and Methods…………………………………………………. 51 2.1.1. Interviews, Focus Groups and Participant Observation 2.2. Political Socialization Theory and Research .......................................... 62 2.2.1. Early to Modern Political Socialization Theory and Research 2.2.2. Political Socialization Research in Hungary and CEE 2.3. Grassroots Social Movement Theory and Research ............................... 82 2.3.1. Mobilization as Part of Socialization 2.3.2. Civil Participation and Social Movements in CEE PART TWO: Youth Engagement in Sociopolitical Organizations and Activism 3. Political Parties and Youth Participation ……………………………………. 95 3.1. Fidesz: Founder of Youth Parties in Hungary …………............……… 98 3.1.1. The Early Years of Transition 3.1.2. Mass Mobilization and Civic Circles 3.1.3. Fidesz’s Open Door Policy: Radical Rhetoric 3.2. A New Wave of Youth-Based Parties ……………………………….. 113 3.2.1. Movement Strategies: Horizontal and Vertical Processes 3.2.2. A Polarized Youth: Politically and Regionally 3.3. Political Youth Camps in Hungary ....................................................... 126 4. Grassroots Social Movements & Subcultures ………...…………………….. 137 4.1. Civic Participation and Political Activism in Hungary ……………… 139 4.1.1. The Youth Appeal of Grassroots Social Movements 4.1.2. Radical Right Grassroots Social Movements 4.1.3. Liberal-Left and Green Grassroots Social Movements 4.2. The Malleability of Social Movements ……………………………… 159 4.2.1. Blurring Movements with Political Parties 4.2.2. The Radical Right Subculture 5 PART THREE: Socialization Influences 5. Hungarian Families as Agents of Political Socialization …………………... 177 5.1. Familial Legacies: Parental Socialization ……………..…………….. 179 5.1.1. Parental Political Socialization 5.1.2. Passing on the Partisanship 5.2. Historical Narratives ………………………………………………… 187 5.2.1 Contentious Hungarian History 5.2.2 Relating Familial Experiences to Youth Political Opinions 5.3. Direct Familial Political Socialization ………………………………. 198 5.3.1. Family Influences on Partisanship, Voting and Membership 5.3.2. Familial Predispositions to the Right 6. Education and Political Socialization …………..………………………….... 209 6.1. Education Decentralized and Recentralized ......................................... 210 6.1.1. Post-Communist Educational Restructuring 6.1.2. Difficulties and Complexities 6.2. Political Efficacy and Activism in Universities ................................... 224 6.2.1. Prohibiting Political Socialization in Universities 6.2.2. Subjective and Selective Teaching 6.3. Special Colleges: Elite Socialization .................................................... 232 6.3.1. Origins of the Szakkollégium in Hungary 6.3.2. Membership Process and Structure of Special Colleges 6.3.3. Developing Political Parties and Socializing Activism 7. Media as an Agent of Political Socialization ................................................... 243 7.1. Post-Communist Media Transformation .............................................. 245 7.1.1. Privatization of Traditional Media 7.1.2. Shifting the Media as a Tool for Right Wing Politics 7.1.3. Outlets for Marginalized Political Views in the Media 7.2. Youth Media Usage ............................................................................. 255 7.2.1. Youth Internet Usage 7.2.2. Politicizing the Internet: Online News as a Political Tool 7.2.3. The Media’s Role as a Socializer 8. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................... 277 Appendix 1. Hungarian Election Results 1990-2010 ............................................. 293