The Bolyai University as a Political Project
The Bolyai University as a Political Project

Author(s): Barna Bodó
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Scientia Kiadó
Summary/Abstract: The restoration of a state-financed Hungarian-language university in Romania, that of the Bolyai University, has probably been the most clearly formulated aspiration of the Hungarian minority in Romania after 1989. We can find it included in the very first manifestos put forth on those agitated December days in 1989, when dictatorship was abolished, as well as in the first declarations of those who came into office in the new era. Two decades of political actions have not been enough to bring to life the fulfilment of probably the most general demand of the Hungarian minority in Romania, a demand that has been considered just and has been said to be supported by all Hungarian politicians in Romania. Considering the current political situation and the reactions of the academic community immediately concerned, it can be stated that in the first part of 2008 the question of the university is at its lowest ebb. It does not feature as a political goal on the list of the questions of distinguished importance. The political elite is neither arranging nor planning anything, professionals are waiting in confusion, while the Hungarian community in Romania does not react to the situation at all. In the present study we are looking for answers to the following questions: 1. Was the goal setting mistaken two decades ago? 2. Were the means or the manner of handling the problem wrong? Is there anyone, or are there any people who could be held responsible, either politically or personally, for the failure? 3. How does that Hungarian publicity work in Romania, in the context of which even the most important public goals can lose their importance?

• Details
• Contents