JAKABFFY ÉS A KISEBBSÉGI POLITIKA
Jakabffy and minority politics

Author(s): Barna Bodó
Subject(s): Essay|Book Review |Scientific Life
Published by: Scientia Kiadó
Keywords: Jakabffy; minority politics; Magyar Kisebbség; Hungarian community in Transylvania;
Summary/Abstract: The question arises: is it necessary to analyse, once more, the personality andwork of Elemér Jakabffy, lawyer, public fi gure, leader of his community, deputy,social scientist, editor and patron of the periodical Magyar Kisebbség, a journalwith versions in Romanian, German, and French, known throughout Europe– does his immense activity, therefore, call for a new analysis? My answer is:yes. This is the case not only because Jakabffy as a public fi gure carried outextremely responsible and extensive activities but also to get a clearer pictureof him, the man. Jakabffy’s political and social role has fascinated me for sometime: I see in him an outsider from within the system, a politician who does notdedicate himself to a party or a movement but who is rather the follower andpromoter of values, (often of public) ideas, duties that he had respected all hislife, never giving them up in any situation. Admirable consistency. Jakabffy’spublic involvement is not that of a politician, as he behaves more like an actorof the associative sphere and dedicates his life and activity to the service of thecommunity. It is an institution embedded in one person. When there were noinstitutions (yet) to deal with the challenges of minority status, he invented andestablished them. Thus, his perception of his role can be interpreted correctlyonly in a broader context, for which a general analysis of the concept of politicsand political activity is necessary, including an analysis of the (political andsocial) elite of the Hungarian community in Transylvania, from the interwarperiod.

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