New Political Culture in the Making: Central and Eastern Europe in Transition Erasmus Link to Norway visit to the University of Bergen 11 May 2004 István.

New Political Culture in the New Political Culture in the Making: Central and Eastern Making: Central and Eastern

Europe in TransitionEurope in Transition

Erasmus Link to Norway visit tothe University of Bergen

11 May 2004

István Tarrósy, M.Sc.part-time lecturer in Political Science, UP

managing director of Europe House

Structure of the presentationStructure of the presentation

1.) Political culture: the foundation stones a general overview of the terms and their relations setting the scene- political culture- political socialisation

2.) some features of political culture in CEECs3.) a more specific investigation of Hungarian specialities

political traditionsin particular:- heritage of the Communist past- present-day situation: changes in political socialisation

4.) Is there a distinct European political culture?

Political culture: Political culture: The foundation stonesThe foundation stones

• Almond (1989): "something like a notion of political culture has been around as long as men have spoken and written about politics."

• C 5th B.C. – Herodotus: comparing different characteristics of nations

• 1950s – early behaviourists: focus on human behaviour and attitude

• The term ‘political culture’ Almond, Verba, Pye - Almond-Verba: 1. the chain between the individual and the institutions; 2. the group of orientations reflecting the attitudes of the individual

The foundation stones 2The foundation stones 2

3. 3 types of political orientations: parochial, subject, participant

- Pye: the complex of attitudes and practices resembling the historical evolution of society + psychological reactions based upon the investigation of developing countries

Present-day definitionsPresent-day definitions

Körösényi (1998)- the subjective side of politics- can be approached from different angles:1. the collective cultural, behavioral and attitude-related patterns of a political community; the complex of political knowledge, values, feelings and symbols2. the collection/group of the attitudes, values and norms, together with the preferences, information and capabilities of the individual

Coxall & Robins (1998)A political culture is the pattern of understandings, feelings and attitudes which dispose people towards behaving in a particular way politically. It is the collective expression of the political outlooks and values of the individuals who make up society. All societies possess a political culture.

Present-day definitions 2Present-day definitions 2

McCormick (2003)The term political culture describes the norms, values and expectations of a society as they relate to politics and government. Political culture helps explain what leaders and citizens regard as acceptable and unacceptable regarding the character of government, and the relationship between government and people.

Political socializationPolitical socialization

• Political culture is intertwined with the overall socialization of people.

• Negrine (1996): it is the process of social learning whereby individuals acquire knowledge, skills and dispositions that enable them to participate as more or less effectice members of groups and the society

• Primary and secondary agencies (agents)• Direct – indirect• Unifying – divisive

Some features of political culture Some features of political culture in CEECsin CEECs

• CEECs – Western Europeunder Soviet rule: CEECs were forces to give up

or transform their political and cultural traditions distorted new culture

there is still no consolidated rotation of the different governments

• the problem of mutual trust distrust and suspicion are among the main features a lot to do to reach maturity!

• politics: a game played by men national politics represented by men

Political traditions in HungaryPolitical traditions in Hungary

Q: What influenced or determined Hungarian political traditions?

• The state ideology of St. Stephen constitutional way of thinking

• International political orientation: always (stuck) between East and West

• The question of national and state sovereignty – the relationship with the Habsburgs

• Clerical/religious cleavage: Habsburgs and catholic aristocracy and protestant (Calvinist) noblemen

Political traditions in Hungary 2Political traditions in Hungary 2

150 years of political development• Weak democratic but strong parliamentary

tradition since the revolution of 1848-49• The Horthy Era between 1920 and 1944• The Communist regime: not unified at all

different periods, different characteristics1948 – 1963: classical, totalitarian dictatorship1960s, 1970s: authoritarian dictatorship, the heyday of the Kádár Era1980s: more neutral and relaxed political dictatorship with a series of reforms

The heritage of the pastThe heritage of the past

• State control everything put under strict control of the Communist Party

• Family remained the only community that could stay independent more or less

• Society became atomised• With the loosening of state control over

the economy the second economic sphere gradually developed

• In addition, double society came into existence

• Political cynicism coupled with Hungarian pessimism

Problem areas: true or not?Problem areas: true or not?

• Lack of democratic political tradition (too long authoritarian tradition)

• Weakness of the representation of interests (interest groups) and civil society

• Intolerant social and political attitudes (e.g. ethnic prejudices)

• Low turnout on elections and general political apathy

• Lack of pragmatism• Inexperienced political elite

Political socialisation and its Political socialisation and its agenciesagencies

• The features of the cursed/damned socialist system disappearing slowly

• The change itself was gradual and without any violence

• The crisis of the family uncertainty (but great importance!)

• The norms of the new society pulled friends apart

• The appearance of the new agent of socialization, i.e. network connection, e.g. Amway, Lions, Rotary

• Changes in the media of socialization

Central Europe (still) in TransitionCentral Europe (still) in Transition

As Ralf Dahrendorf (1990: 92-93) suggests:Three fundamental conditions of the road to freedom

1. the formal process of constitutional reform – taking at least six months;

2. a general sense that things are moving up as a result of economic reform – unlikely to spread before six years have passed;

3. the provision of the social foundations which transform the constitution and the economy into such institutions that can withstand the storms generated within and without – sixty years are barely enough to lay these foundations (civil society)

What has happened so far?What has happened so far?Following Dahrendorf’s criteria:

1. Indeed, political change took approx. 6 months constitutional laws:1989: Freedom of Association, Est. of the Constitutional Court, Electoral Law1990: Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Press, Party Law, Law on Self Governments

2. Indeed, economic change took approx. 6 years - drop in real wages made acceptance of market economy not an easy task for citizens- it the beginning hesitation regarding privatization – only economic circumstances forced the government towards a massive sell-out

3. Shall we wait another 60 years until the change in civic attitudes will enable democracy to work properly? How about civic attitudes in general? What happened to them since the change of the regime?

Transition (rock’n’) rolls onTransition (rock’n’) rolls on

• Political change (maybe) is not over yet: the Prime Minister has recently made proposals for:– Electing the President directly, by the citizens– Shrinking the number of MP’s

• Economic change faces challenges by the time of joining the EU common market

• Civic attitudes are neither better, nor worse than in other democratic countries

Back to EuropeBack to Europe: Hungary in the : Hungary in the European UnionEuropean Union

• Further transformation? How? In what way?

• What will happen to Hungarian identity?• How will Hungarian political culture get

accustomed to a European political culture? And the other way round?

• Numerous other questions concerning the costs and benefits on both sides…

Is there any Is there any EuropeanEuropean political political culture?culture?

• Jacques Thomassen (Twente): ”A distinct European political culture supposes a common political culture across the countries of Europe.”

• But: most CEECs have a democratic history of not more than a decade

• Pye pol.cult. is a historical-cultural heritage from the past CEECs need to work out a two-faced (not Janus-faced!) pol.cult.1.) common CEE pol.cult.2.) new, Western-European-oriented attitudes

Henry Ford once said:

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

ReferencesReferences• Almond, G. A. & Verba, S. (Eds). (1989). The Civic Culture Revisited. Newbury Park,

California: SAGE Publications. • Flora, P. et al. (Ed). (1999). State Formation, Nation-Building, and Mass Politics in

Europe. The Theory of Stein Rokkan. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Almond, G. A. et al. (2003). Comparative Politics Today. A World View. 7th ed.

London: Longman. • Körösényi, A. (1998). A magyar politikai rendszer. [The Hungarian political system].

Budapest: Osiris Kiadó.• Coxall, B. & Robins, L. (1998). Contemporary British Politics. London: Macmillan. • McCormick, J. (2003). Contemporary Britain. London: PALGRAVE. • Negrine, R. (1996). The Communication of Politics. London: SAGE. • Komlósi, L. I. et al. (Eds.) (2003). Communication and Culture. Argumentative,

Cognitive and Linguistic Perspectives. Amsterdam: Sic Sat.• Völgyes, I. (1999). Politikai szocializáció és kultúra Magyarországon. [Political

socialisation and culture in Hungary]. Világosság. 7. 3-14.• Simon, J. (Ed.) (1998). Ezredvégi értelmezések. Demokráciáról, politikai kultúráról,

bal- és jobboldalról. [Interpretations at the end of the millennium. About democracy, political culture, left and right]. Vol. 1. Villányi úti könyvek 23. Politikatudományi sorozat 19.

• Gerő, A. (2003). 2003. április vége. Egy polgár naplója. [The end of April 2003. The diary of a citizen.] Magyar Hírlap. 28 April 2003.

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