The political transformation that started at the end of the 80s required the newly elected governments of both Central and Eastern Europe to modify and – in some cases – even develop from scratch legal regulations allowing for a proper functioning of such countries in a completely new political reality. By starting with the presentation of the political Trianon discourse in the inter-war and people’s democracy periods, the author is going to analyze the attempts of the very first Hungarian government (led by the Hungarian Democratic Forum between 1990 and 1994) after the political transformation that aimed at regulating the legal status of diaspora living in countries neighboring with Hungary.

Of all losers of the first World War Hungary had been the most penalized. That included the losing of over two third of its territory and nearly as much of its population. Albeit paying lip service to the right of self-determination, the victors delegated 5,5 million people into a minority position (whilst for some this meant no change, yet brought difficulties). It was only 5,2 million about whom it could be claimed on ethnic grounds – in part with reservations – that their fate as that of a community improved.

In the areas annexed by Romania, the socio-economic processes of the wider region prevailed in the studied period. The greatest change took place during Communism’s four decades. The main objective of the centrally managed economy was industrialization, and soon the national-communist leadership aimed at creating a „homogenized society”.

Population growth of four decades after the second World War came to a halt due to mass emigration and decline in birth rate in the early 1990s; the number of population falling by nearly 4 million to date. In proportional terms the loss of the 16,8 million strong Romanians (2011) and the 1,2 million strong Hungarians was near identical during the 2002–2011 period. By 2011, the number of Transylvanian Germans counting 600 000 prior to the second World War had been reduced to 36 000. The number of the half a million strong in 1930 Jews had fallen to a few hundred. At the same time, the number of Romani increased to 621 000. The Hungarian indigenous minority in Transylvania see the survival of their community in the realization of autonomy in Székelyland, and in Northwestern Transylvania.

The „Trianon” is perhaps the most famous historical term in Hungary. 100 years ago, on June 4, 1920, restrictive peace conditions were imposed on Hungary at the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles. Apart of the loss of territory, 3,5 million Hungarians remained abroad. In Hungarian historical awareness, the Treaty of Trianon is a symbol of catastrophe and national humiliation. The change of „Greater Hungary” into „small” Hungary. To this day, the effects of the treaty have had an impact on Hungary’s politics, economy and culture.

The First World War caused very deep and fundamental changes in Central and Eastern Europe. The biggest loser of the war was the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Kingdom of Hungary as one of its parts was dissolved in the framework of Trianon Peace Treaty. The new Hungary could retain only 28,6% of the former territory and 36,5% of its former population. After 1920 the League of Nations was planned a new collective European security system.

* The research has been implemented with support provided from the National Research Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary (Geopolitical Processes and Imaginaries in Central Europe: States, Borders, Integration and Regional Development: NKFI K 134903). Translated by Katalin Süle.

In modern Central Europe there is still no shortage of countries whose mutual relations largely determine historical experience, and more specifically a different interpretation and assessment of events from the past. An excellent example of this is Hungary’s relations with neighboring countries, which are marked by events from the second half of the nineteenth century, i.e. the period when the authorities of the then Kingdom of Hungary conducted intensive Magyarization of national minorities and the first half of the twentieth century, as a result of the provisions of the Trianon Treaty, Budapest lost more than half of its area, and 3,227 million Hungarians were outside the country. The Trianon Treaty, which is still a traumatic memory and an unhealed wound, has a great impact on mutual relations.

This article presents the impact of the Trianon Treaty on Hungarian-Slovak relations. Currently, 460,000 Hungarians live in Slovakia, who found themselves in the Republic as a result of the provisions of the said treaty. Importantly, it is the second-largest Hungarian minority in the Carpathian Sea Basin. In addition, it is a compact community, inhabiting the southern area of the country along the Hungarian border, conducting active political and cultural activities, and remaining in strong relations with their motherland. The abovementioned factors and fears of the Slovaks against the revisionist policy of Budapest in the interwar period and in the early 1990s meant that the topic of Trianon permanently inscribed in mutual relations.

The present article is a summary of a 5-year research on historical peripheries of Hungary between 1910 and 2010. The identification of peripheral zones in Hungary in 1910 – which geographers failed to do up to now – contributed to the assessment of mistargeted regional development planning policies in the last hundred years. On the other hand it also caused debates, because many of the backward areas coincided with regions dominated by ethnic minorities, thus strengthening the opinion of the historians of the successor states that Austria-Hungary oppressed national minorities.

The first part of the article summarizes the opinions, interpretations, misunderstandings emerging from this debate around mapping of inequalities and the implementation of geographical methods in historical research. The second part of the article goes further and – by drawing up the regional differences in 2010 – evaluates the development policies of the successor states, claiming that these were not better, than in historical Hungary; the successor states were driven by the same convictions and pursued similar policies toward zones inhabited by minorities as Hungary did. We show that there were remarkable shifts in the extension of backward zones and the question naturally arises when this process began. Using the census data of the 1930s we try to analyze whether some of these changes observable by 2010 can be traced back to WWII (or were generated only later), and if yes, whether these are direct consequences of the new borders drawn in 1920 or, contrary, it was the former processes during the Hungarian rule that culminated (implying that the first 10 years of the successor states was a failure regarding the integration attempts of the new territories). For this a distric level complex development level map of the region was created by combining 10 variables and the patterns in the 1930s were compared to those in 1910 and in 2010.

Trailing back from quasi decentralisation to centralisation. Municipal reform in Hungary

It is very difficult to group countries and state structures according to the extent of their decentralization or the model they follow in the spatial distribution of power. The bounds of responsibility of local government and the state, the distribution of the roles and tasks between the two stakeholders and the question of centralization and decentralization are issues regularly debated in recent years and today.

This topic is not merely a public administration, financial or state organization issue since these decisions have a direct impact on citizens’ lives through public services.

In my study I wish to introduce this process via Hungary’s example. I also examine how and what those concerned by the financial and political changes, i.e. the population perceived of this most important structural transformation of the period since the transition in 1989. Can it be verified from the consumers’ point of view that the transformation of the local municipal system improves the quality of service provision?

* Research for this paper was supported by the following grant: EFOP-3.6.3-VEKOP-16-2017- 00007 Young researchers from talented students – Fostering scientific careers in higher education.

Belarus – Hungary: pattern of interaction in the conditions of asymmetric associations

The article focuses on bilateral relations between the Republic of Belarus and Hungary in the context of their membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. The author made an attempt to define the model of bilateral cooperation between states limited in their actions by membership in regional associations. The features of the development of political dialogue, which was formed under the influence of the national vision and approaches of the EU as a whole, are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the regional format of relations within the Visegrad Group, CEI and the „Eastern Partnership” initiative. The analysis current state of trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Hungary is made. The author identifies the strengths and weaknesses of relations, and outlines perspective spheres of cooperation.

The active phase of relations between Belarus and Hungary began in the 2000-s, when the parties finally decided on the vectors of their foreign policy. The launch of the „Eastern Partnership” initiative has played a decisive role in the development of political dialogue and economic cooperation on an ongoing basis. Bilateral relations between Belarus and Hungary are an example for building a model of interaction that is not burdened by a common historical past and based on pragmatism. The fairly active political dialogue between the two countries is based on an economic component. In parallel, the parties actively declare the primacy of national interests over collective ones – the EU and the EAEU. At the same time, the analysis indicates, membership in regional associations significantly limits the possibilities of their implementation in practice. This especially affects the trade and economic sphere of interaction. These factors determine the cyclical nature of relations between Belarus and Hungary. Thus, the bilateral format of cooperation within the framework of asymmetric associations is a sufficiently effective mechanism for the development of a full-fledged dialogue. At the same time, it is important to understand that the political component is secondary to the economic one. This approach allows the parties not to overestimate expectations and to develop mutually beneficial, equal relationships based on pragmatism and real opportunities.

This study analyses the first energy and climate package adopted in 2008 (the so-called „20-20-20” package), setting goals for the European Union and the member states by 2020. Then describes the process of shaping the goals of the energy and climate policy of the European Union until 2030. The author focuses on the aspects that affect the electricity sector in Poland, boost renewable energy usage, re‑form the European energy market and reducing CO2 emissions. The text ends with conclusions and recommendations regarding the impact of the European Union’s energy and climate policy on the electricity sector in Poland.

The article describes issue of security of delivery of energy sources – Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and oil to Poland by the maritime routes. Poland currently uses one LNG terminal and one major oil import terminal, and further developments – Baltic Pipe pipeline from North Sea and another LNG terminal are planned. Security of those routes depends on various factors from security of terminals, safe passage of tankers and required using multiple elements, including security and law enforcement services, naval forces and air defence systems to provide reliable delivery of oil and LNG in case of peace, crisis and war.

Ukraine is the most important transit state of Russian gas to the European Union. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 caused the military conflict what affects mutual business relations between those two countries until today. It was one of the reasons that made Gazprom start thinking of new gas transition installation omitting Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to show current role of the Ukraine in Russian gas transit to the European Union. The first part of the article describes current situation of the gas sector in Ukraine and historical review of relations with Russia concerning gas trade. The second part shows current ways of Russian gas distribution to the EU and the perspectives connected with new gas pipelines projects – Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream. The third part focuses on giving an answer to the question: weather the Ukraine still is to be the Russian gas transit state in the second decade of the 21st century? The study is based on scientific and press articles as well as on information given at official websites of the following institutions: European Union, government of Ukraine, government of Russia, NGOs from Ukraine, Russia and EU states. The article is also based on discussion that took place in Warsaw at 11th of May 2019 during International Conference Quo Vadis Ukraine held by phd research organization „Ucrainica”.

The Ukrainian gas sector has a long history. Ukraine ranks third in Europe in terms of gas potential. Regardless of such great potential, Ukraine still imports gas. There are three gas-bearing regions in Ukraine – Carpathian, Dnipro-Donetsk and Black sea region. Gas production began at the beginning of the 20th century. After the Second World War, Ukraine was the main exporter of gas from the USSR to Eastern Europe. Today, private companies provide the majority of gas production in Ukraine. Currently, the largest gas deposits are mature, and the newly discovered deposits require large investment outlays. The Ukrainian gas pipeline system has strategic importance and it is connected to underground gas storage facilities. Currently, the system works only on 50% of its own capacity due to the decrease in the volume of gas transit through Ukraine from Russia. The biggest problems in the gas sector are corruption related to the issuing of licenses for the development of new deposits and the lack of an appropriate pace of energy reforms. The proper implementation of the 2035 Energy Strategy may help improve the situation in this sector.

In this article, the author describes modern diplomatic relations between Montenegro and Albania. In order to present the close ties between the two countries, will be shown the common history of both nations, which influenced the subsequent development of diplomatic relations. Attention will be focused primarily on the main branches of cooperation and on joint initiatives in the field of protection of national minorities.

The Republic of North Macedonia is a small country on the Balkan Peninsula, which is characterized by the accumulation of many national and ethnic and religious groups in a small area (25 713 km2) – among them are Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Roma, Vlachs, Serbs or Bosnians, as well as other smaller nationalities and ethnic groups. This article aims to present the origins of the Turks in Northern Macedonia, and at the same time to indicate the reasons for emigration from these areas and to present political parties and organizations representing the interests of Turks and their most important activities for the benefit of this minority. The article also analyze Turkish-Macedonian relations ranging from the proclamation of Macedonian independence to the accession of the Republic of Northern Macedonia to the structures of the NATO in 2020.

Forty years after Cambodian genocide the reconciliation is still in early stage. Despite such long time there was almost nothing done, especially in 20th century, to make that process happened. The article discusses the determinants, reasons and factors that had impact on reconciliation. Determinants can be divided into different categories. First of all the socio-historical background. Circumstances in which Khmer Rouge come to power, their revolutionary approach to economy, implemented reforms, use of children, displacements of people and categorization of citizens had great impact on post-1979 Cambodia. Another determinant is a political one. Policy of post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia rulers stunted the reconciliation. There reason of such actions are multidimensional but the most important one is provenance of People’s Republic of Kampuchea leaders. The most important figures in Cambodia politics are ex-Khmer Rouge soldiers, accused by some of taking a part in genocide. What’s even more confusing, the most powerful opposition party in 1980s were perpetrators themselves and their allies. Even after signing Paris Peace Accords in 1991 until early 2000s there was no will to punish Khmer Rouge officials responsible for genocide. The Cambodian culture of silence, the third determinant, only exacerbates a difficult situation. Cambodians rarely speak about atrocities and harsh past because of fear, shame or trauma. Even in school textbooks until 2009 there was almost nothing said about tragic events which happened between 1975 and 1979. History of Democratic Kampuchea still affects the Cambodian society. Despite sentencing few Khmer Rouge officials in 2010s, there’s still lot to be done also on state-level. Reconciliation and coming back to the state of balance is the main challenge for Cambodia in the nearest future, crucially important to social and political life of this nation.

The article presents the phenomenon of the Israeli outposts in the West Bank. It describes the origins, ways of establishing, sources of financial support of the outposts. There will be examined the Israeli governments’ attitude toward this type of settlement. It should be emphasized that governmental and self-governmental institutions, as well as the World Zionist Organization, are engaged in establishing and developing the outposts in the West Bank. The aim of the article is to explain and to describe this phenomenon in the light of the Israeli law and its consequences for the State of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The examination is based on the following sources: Sasson Report, Levy Report, Judea and Samaria Settlement Regulation Law, Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, so-called Young Settlement Bill, reports published by Peace Now and B’Tselem organizations. For the research author used institutional, historical analysis and decision analysis methods. It helped to state that the Israeli outposts, despite its illegality, receive wide financial and security support from government and self-governments. The outposts threaten also the peace process. Furthermore, since 2009 Netanyahu’s governments try to recognize and legalize the outposts by legal measures.

The article presents examples of the implementation of the Promethean action on selected directions of cooperation with nations dependent on the Soviet Union in connection with the activity of the authorities of the Second Republic of Poland in the years 1926–1932. The involvement of military authorities in this process was primarily taken into consideration. Prometheism was considered as one of the organised concepts of implementing not only political but also information and intelligence activities.

The author defines the place and importance of Prometheism in the activities of Polish military intelligence in the years 1926–1932. He also distinguishes examples of cooperation with the Promethean nations aiming at strengthening the security of the Second Republic. The archival materials collected in the Central Military Archive in Warsaw-Rembertów and the Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw were used to achieve the objective set.

It should be stated that Prometheism was a significant concept within the involvement of military intelligence in strengthening the national security of the Second Polish Republic. It was evidenced by the Polish authorities’ cooperation with nations dependent on Soviet activities in the East.

Hybrid warfare, which has been conducted since 2014 in Ukraine has become a new geopolitical phenomenon that directly threatens Poland, and thus Euro-Atlantic security, bringing a new group of threats that emerged after the collapse of the bipolar world. The article discusses how the Russian Federation uses hybrid warfare achieve your political goals and support your own interests. The study also includes an assessment of the threat of hybrid war in Poland as well as the genesis and principles of hybrid operations in the modern world.