˜Theœ Rise of Populist Nationalism Social Resentments and Capturing the Constitution in Hungary

The authors of this book approach the emergence and endurance of the populist nationalism in post-socialist Eastern Europe, with special emphasis on Hungary. They attempt to understand the reasons behind public discourses that increasingly reframe politics in terms of nationhood and nationalism. Overall, the volume attempts to explain how the new nationalism is rooted in recent political, economic and social processes. The contributors focus on two motifs in public discourse: shift and legacy. Some focus on shifts in public law and shifts in political ethno-nationalism through the lens of constitutional law, while others explain the social and political roots of these shifts. Others discuss the effects of legacy in memory and culture and suggest that both shift and legacy combine to produce the new era of identity politics. Legal experts emphasize that the new Fundamental Law of Hungary is radically different from all previous Hungarian constitutions, and clearly reflects a redefinition of the Hungarian state itself. The authors further examine the role of developments in the fields of sociology and political science that contribute to the kind of politics in which identity is at the fore. "The authors of this book approach the emergence and endurance of the populist nationalism in post-socialist Eastern Europe, with special emphasis on Hungary. They aim to understand the reasons behind the growing public discourses that seek to reframe politics in terms of nationhood and nationalism. The contributors focus on two motifs in public discourse: shift and legacy. Each offers answers to important theoretical questions endemic to Eastern Europe by combining empirical and normative social science perspectives. Some contributors focus on shifts in public law and shifts in political ethno-nationalism through the lens of constitutional law, while others explain the social and political causes of those shifts. The authors also discuss the effects of legacy in memory and culture but suggest that both shift and legacy are intertwined in producing the new era of identity politics. Overall, this volume attempts to explain how new nationalism is rooted in recent political, economic and social processes. The legal experts in the volume emphasize that the new Fundamental Law of Hungary is radically different from all previous Hungarian constitutions, and is a quasi-mirror for how the identity of the Hungarian state itself is being redefined. The book further examines the role of certain structural processes within sociology and political science in strengthening identity politics"-- Provided by publisher "The authors of this book approach the emergence and endurance of the populist nationalism in post-socialist Eastern Europe, with special emphasis on Hungary. They aim to understand the reasons behind the growing public discourses that seek to reframe politics in terms of nationhood and nationalism. The contributors focus on two motifs in public discourse: shift and legacy. Each offers answers to important theoretical questions endemic to Eastern Europe by combining empirical and normative social science perspectives. Some contributors focus on shifts in public law and shifts in political ethno-nationalism through the lens of constitutional law, while others explain the social and political causes of those shifts. The authors also discuss the effects of legacy in memory and culture but suggest that both shift and legacy are intertwined in producing the new era of identity politics. Overall, this volume attempts to explain how new nationalism is rooted in recent political, economic and social processes. The legal experts in the volume emphasize that the new Fundamental Law of Hungary is radically different from all previous Hungarian constitutions, and is a quasi-mirror for how the identity of the Hungarian state itself is being redefined. The book further examines the role of certain structural processes within sociology and political science in strengthening identity politics."-- JSTOR Table of Contents Introduction Constitutional Continuity Disrupted Continuity, Discontinuity and Constitution- Making: A Comparative Account A Nation Torn Apart by its Constitution? Nationality and Ethnicity in the Context of the Hungarian Fundamental Law Towards an Illiberal Extraterritorial Political Community? Hungary’s “Simplified Naturalization” and Its Ramifications Shift in the Hungarian Roma Policy New Forms of Nationalism and the Discursive Construction of the Gypsy Other Civil Society and the Right-wing Radicalization of the Public Sphere in Hungary What Lies Beneath the Appeal of the Radical Right to Elite Skilled Workers? The Impact of Deeply Ingrained Nationalism and Perceptions of Multiple Exploitations1 Who Brings the Political Change? Divergent Understandings of Politics Among Politically Active Students List of Contributors Index