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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improperalignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for aity photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN HUNGARY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Choong-Mook Lee, B.A. The Ohio State University 1996 Dissertation Committee Approved by Goldie Shabad R. William Liddle Advised Felipe Agiiero Department of Political Science UMI Number: 9620030 UMI Microform 9620030 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 To My Parents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I express sincere appreciation to Professor Goldie Shabad not only for her guidance and insight throughout the research, but for her patience and understanding. Thanks go to the other members of my dissertation committee, Drs. R. William Liddle and Felipe Agtiero, for their suggestions and comments. Gratitude is also expressed to Drs. Bradley Richardson and Anthony Mughan, for their support and encouragement. I am very grateful to Mr. Gyorgy Kalmar, a member of senior editorial board at Magyar Televizio, who greatly helped me carry out my research in Budapest. To my wife Eunkyoung, I offer sincere thanks for your unshakable faith in me and your willingness to endure the vicissitudes of my endeavors. To my daughters, Jiyoung and Jeiyon, I thank you for my frequent absences. I dedicate my dissertation to my parents who have made me what I am. iii VITA March 5, 1958 Born in Seoul, Korea 1980 ............ B.A., Yonsei University 1981-1983 Daewoo Corporations 1984 ............ Internship in the National Assembly of Korea FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Political Science 1. Studies in Comparative Politics Politics of Industrialized Societies Politics of Developing Societies Politics of Democratization 2. Studies in Political Theory Traditional Political Theory Marxist Political Theory TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... iii VITA ................................................................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1. Research Problem ..................................................................................................... 1 2. Previous Studies ..................................................................................................... 7 Modernization F a c to r ...................................................................................... 8 Legitimation Factor ..................................................................................... 18 Soviet Factor ............................................................................................. 22 Elite Factor ..................................................................................................... 28 3. Hungary’s Transition to D em ocracy..................................................................... 38 An Explanatory Framework .......................................................................38 Data and Structure of Study .......................................................................46 II. KADARISM: ITS SUCCESSES AND FAILURES .............................................. 48 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 48 2. Antecedents ............................................................................................................ 49 The Emergence of a Totalitarian State ..................................................... 50 Imre Nagy’s “New Course” ..................................................................... 55 The Revolution of 1956 60 3. The Nature of Kadarism 64 The Economic Concessions ..................................................................... 67 The Depolarization of Society and Opposition ..................................... 72 4. The Fall of Kadarism .......................................................... 81 The Deterioration of the Hungarian Economy ..................................... 81 The Report of Reform Economists—“Fordulat es Reform” ............. 88 The Program of Economic Stabilization ..................................................... 93 The Party Reformers’ Criticism and Reform Proposals ..................... 99 III. THE DECLINE OF LIGITIMACY AND THE PROCESS OF POLITICAL OPENING .................................................................................... 106 1. Introduction ............................................................... 106 2. The Emergence of Independent Organizations ........................................... 109 Imre Pozsgay and the Hungarian Democratic Forum ............................ 110 Other Independent Organizations ............................................................ 115 3. The MSzMP’s Sdearch for “New Consensus” .................................................... 118 The Central Committee’s Proposal for Political Reform .................... 119 The Party’s “Leading Role” ............................................................ 120 The Democratization within the Party ............................................ 121 The Reform of Political System .................................................... 123 The MSzMP Engaged in Debates .................................................... 125 The Leadership Succession .................................................................... 127 The Ascendancy of Karoly Grosz .................................................... 128 The MSzMP’s May Conference .................................................... 133 The Post-Kadar Leadership: A New Beginning? ............................. 134 4. The MSzMP Conservatives’ Attempt at Limited Liberalization ..................... 138 The MSzMP Conservatives’Strategy (I) 141 Signs of Division within the MSzMP ............................................ 145 The Role of “Social Debate” ............................................................ 151 The MSzMP Conservatives’ Strategy (II) ............................................ 153 The Proliferation of Independent Political Organizations ............. 157 The Deepening of Division within the MSzMP Leadership 162 5. The Political Stalemate and Its Resolution .................................................... 166 Imre Pozsgay’s Strategy ............................................................................ 167 The Issue of 1956 and “Pozsgay Affair” .................................................... 169 The MSzMP Conservatives’ Option: Restoration or Democratization? ............................................................ 175 vi IV. FROM THE PROJECT OF LIMITED DEMOCRATIZATION TO THE ADVENT OF DEMOCRACY ..................................................................... 182 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 182 2.The MSzMP Conservatives’ Project of Limited Democratization ................ 185 The MSzMP Conservatives’ Strategy .................................................... 186 The Strategic Interaction Between the MSzMP Conservatives and the Opposition .................................................................................... 193 The Formation of the Opposition Roundtable ............................ 197 The Confrontation Between the MSzMP Conservatives and United Opposition and Its Consequence ............................................ 201 The Shift in the Balance of Power within the Regime ............................. 212 The Emergence of “Reform Circles” and Their Role ....................
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