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Okay, here is a longer reply. To summarize beforehand: there are lots of similarities, but also differences in each.

  • In all three regions, there is a significant Hungarian minority. However, percentage-wise, this is highest in Slovakia and lowest in Serbia, while in absolute numbers, it is highest in Romania.

  • However, geographically, there are strong differences. In Slovakia, ethnic Hungarians live in large almost homogenous blocks along the border. In Romania, the one large block is at the far end of Transsylvania (see census map below), many others in smaller blocks towards the border, and a lot in Bucharest. In Voivodina, ethnic-Hungarians are a minority living dispersed.

  • In all three regions, pre-WWII Hungary invaded and memory of that lives on. But, while that was without a fight and for ethnic-Hungarian-majority areas in Slovakia, the territory taken from Romania in the 2nd Vienna Award contained just as many ethnic Romanians and Hungarians and there were scuffles, while Voivodina was re-taken by arms and terror followed it.

  • In all three countries, ethnic-Hungarians were repressed as a minority during communist times. However, that was worst in Romania for most of the time, while in Serbia, it was bad at the start (post-WWII) and end (Milosević voids the autonomy of Voivodina, starts forced conscriptions, settles Bosnian refugees in the homes of emigrants who fled).

  • In all three regions, an ethnic-Hungarian party formed that plays a special role in national politics. Though, with different weights: SMK/MKP polls above 11%, UDMR/RMDSz in Romania just got 6.17% in the elections last Sunday (see green in map below!), and MK in Serbia got just 1.81%.

  • What's more, all three ethnic-Hungarian parties eventually also got into governments. But, for UDMR/RMDSz that means three governments with changing partners, only one for SMK/MKP, and a non-crucial role in fast-crumbling Serbian governments for the Hungarian formation.

  • The three parties are also similar in having a history of harliner-moderate internal and sometimes external (rival formations) conflict, usually also with involvement from some Hungarian-Hungarian parties. In that the one(s) in Serbia showed most instability.

  • The Hungarian governments got in repeated conflict with all three countries, especially over minorities. However, the conflict with Slovakia is on a qualitatively different level, with the dam dispute and secret service stories. (Though, the fact that NATO's planes flew through Hungarian airspace, and that Milosević's opposition got to organise in the safety of Budapest conference rooms, is also a unique difference.)

  • The demand for territorial autonomy comes most strongly from UDMR/RMDSz, and has wide popular support among ethnic-Hungarians. For the SMK/MKP, that's more something in the back of the mind, and most ethnic-Hungarians don't even wish it (as mentioned in the diary).

  • In all three countries, there have been examples of various forms of persecution from the majority population and/or authorities in the 'democratic era'. But in terms of violent attacks, apart from a pogrom-like event shortly after the Romanian Revolution, Voivodina was worst.


*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Thu Dec 4th, 2008 at 11:10:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Forgot another factor.

* In all three countries, there have been significant far-right parties, who had ethnic Hungarians in their eyesights. However, with last week's election, the last such party disappeared from the Romanian parliament, while Serbia's Radicals -- for whom ethnic-Hungarians are just a minor target -- are biiig (just short of 30% in the last elections), and Slovakia's SNS rebounded in the last elections to be bigger than SMK/MKP.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Thu Dec 4th, 2008 at 11:16:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Thank you, that was an answer and then some.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
by A swedish kind of death on Thu Dec 4th, 2008 at 11:20:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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