30 years after the Eastern European transitions it is high time to reappraise the social and political impact of the regime changes. This paper is about how the political science in Hungary institutionalized in 1970s and 1980s. It would be exaggerated to say that politics science or other social sciences in general had a very important role in transition, but at the same time they contributed to creating a regime change atmosphere. The political science in Hungary has been subordinated to politics since the 1980s, that is why despite of adaption of Western European standards it has not developed any critical approaches. The Hungarian political science was integrated as planned into the Socialist-Communist framework from the second half of the 1970s, on the other hand due to the weakening system the scientific elite from other areas of social science constantly widened the boundaries of the system and opened up opportunities for the application of Western political science in Hungary. Political processes overtook political science, and this distance increased after the regime change. I am convinced since the 1970s that political science has been reorganized. A transcript of lecture held at Openness and Closedness – Culture and Science in Hungary and the Soviet Bloc after Helsinki Conference, 12 June 2019 organized by Institute of Political History, Budapest. http://polhist.hu/programok2/openness-and-closedness-culture-and-science-in-hungary-and-the-soviet-bloc-after-helsinki/

1. Openness and Closedness – Culture and Science in Hungary and the Soviet Bloc
after Helsinki Conference
12 June 2019, Institute of Political History, Budapest
THE (RE)INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF
HUNGARIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE
Attila Antal
Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law Institute of Political
Science
and
Social Theory Research Group at Institute of Political History
antal.attila@ajk.elte.hu
antalattila.hu

2. Overview
Introduction
1. Antecedents: Early Political Science before World
War II
2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the 1970s
Conclusions, further research

3. Introduction
Reappraise the social and political impact of the regime
changes
How the political science in Hungary institutionalized in
1970s and 1980s?
A regime change atmosphere
Subordinated to politics
Political science was integrated as planned into the
Socialist-Communist framework
Constantly widened the boundaries of the system

4. 1. Antecedents: Early Political Science before
World War II
Young political science
American Political Science Association (APSA) est. 1903
Philosophy, economics, sociology and law
Various traditions of political thinking in the 19th century
Political and pamphlet literature
Significant authors: Gyula Kautz, Győző Concha, Ignác Kuncz, Ágost
Pulszky, Gyula Pikler, Gyula Kornis, Oszkár Jászi, Bódog Somló, Ervin
Szabó
Juristically and constitutional determined
Embedded political science education
Ideologically determinations after 1945
Political science as a bourgeois discipline

5. 2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the
1970s
2.1 The educational and scientific environment before the
institutionalization of political science
2.1 The educational and
scientific environment
before the
institutionalization of
political science
2.2 The beginning of relief:
the opening of Moscow
and the relationship
between the MSZMP and
political science
2.3 The main directions of
institutionalization of
political science

6. 2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the
1970s
2.1 The educational and scientific environment before the
institutionalization of political science
Multisectoral education system has been abolsihed
“Needs of people democracy”
Marxist-Leninist departments
Isolation and then limited reintegration from 1960s
Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS): losts scientific and
financial autonomy
Hungarian Scientific Council (1948)
Several new research institutions

7. 2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the
1970s
2.1 The educational and scientific environment before the
institutionalization of political science
Re-initialization of the rest of social sciences
Difficult to institutionalize and legitimize political science
Cooperate and compete with other social sciences
Universities have been deprived from the right to award
academic titles
MSZMP’s Political Committee on Cultural Political Principles
(1958)
Spreading the Marxist-Leninist ideas
Obtaining doctoral title at universities ("small doctorate") was
restored (1958)
Scholarship opportunities

8. 2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the
1970s
2.2 The beginning of relief: the opening of Moscow and
the relationship between the MSZMP and political science
Sensitive "bourgeois" discipline
Direct political control and centralization have been
weakened, but several restrictions
Economic and ideological fight
Closer scientific cooperation
International Political Science Association (IPSA) held its
World Congress in Moscow in 1979
Formalize and legitimize the framework of the early
operation of political science

9. 2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the
1970s
2.2 The beginning of relief: the opening of Moscow and the
relationship between the MSZMP and political science
Decision of the MSZMP’s Central Committee (1978): HAS was
able to establish the Political Science Committee in 1980
Coordination Committee for Social Science
The party coordinated social science research at both state and
party level
Central Committee was aware of the need for significant changes
in social science research
Enormous and professional problems with Marxist-Leninist
education

10. 2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the
1970s
2.3 The main directions of institutionalization of political
science
Political science neither had a background in higher
education nor a professional organization system
The professional and academic network of political science
and institutionalize in higher education
the Department of Science, Public Education and Culture of
the MSZMP’s Central Committee (1982): the establishment
of the Hungarian Political Science Association (MPTT)
Diplomatic aspect to institutionalize political science

11. 2. The Reorganization of Political Science in the
1970s
2.3 The main directions of institutionalization of political
science
MPTT has become the place of scientific collaboration
Independent discipline in terms of scientific qualification
Imbalance in the institutionalization
Department Group of Political Science was established in
1984 at the ELTE Faculty of Law

12. Conclusions, further research
Political science began to institutionalize in quite diffuse
circumstances: "forced product" of political relief processes
and lagging behind due to the advanced institutionalization
of other social sciences
Strong political constraints and political/hegemonic power
determinations
Has not become the "science of democracy„
Detrimental effects of the political dependence
Social basis of democracy
Quantitative and qualitative analysis

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14. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!