Description
Book SynopsisIn this book, Melinda Kovács analyzes various areas of Hungarian political discourse: newspapers, party websites, informational books on the EU, and government-produced brochures sent to all households in Hungary. The inquiry is supported by an understanding of politics as achieving and negotiating change in discourse, which is not to be equated with simple language use. In addition to language, discourse also encompasses the meanings shared by members of a political community, along with the conventions of what is possible or plausible in politics. In the case of Hungary at the start of the twenty-first century, it is quite plausible to promote ethno-nationalism and it is quite possible to understand Hungarian political community in terms of historical references different from or devoid of communism and post-communism. An exploration of discourses generated between 1999 and 2013 reveals that while political developments in recent years have been a cause for legitimate concern, Hungarian political discourse has been making these developments plausible.
Table of ContentsTable of Contents A world of discourse Part I: Getting to the Present Chapter 1: Magyar Millenium Chapter 2: Lies and Riots Part II: Crucial or Colonial: The Issue of EU Membership Chapter 3: Propaganda and Accession Chapter 4: EU-cation Chapter 5: Presiding vs. Reporting Part III: 21st Century Watershed? Chapter 6: Parties on the Internet: Inclusion vs. Exclusion Chapter 7: Constitutional Q&A Conclusions: Homegrown Discourses and Post-Communism Bibliography
