A konzervatív politika lehetőségei Kelet-Európában
The Possibilities of Conservative Politics in Eastern Europe

Summary/Abstract: The main thesis of this study is that conservatism in Eastern Europe is somehow in a paradoxical situation. It cannot base on the conservative attitude present in every man and women because this would favour the preservation of social conditions inherited from the communist era. Consequently, the conservatism in Eastern Europe has to step on the hard way of social and political reform. It is true that conservatism itself isn’t unfamiliar with reform, but fi rst we have to put the question: what (and according to which criteria) do we have to reform? How could we found those basic conservative values and principles which would provide for us the formal criteria of social and political reform? It seems that, after the fall of communist regimes, conservative political movements in Eastern Europe found their best allies in the ideas of nation, powerful and omnipresent state, charismatic political leadership and religion. However, these ideas cannot constitute the ground for a reformist and durable conservative politics because they are holding inside the risk of radicalism and yet, radicalism is – even from the very beginnings – strange from conservatism. Instead of these, Eastern European conservatism should borrow form western conservatism some other basic principles and ideas, such as: the authority of state, legitimacy of political government, rights and duties of citizens, loyalty, powerful civil society and patriotism (instead of nationalism).

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