This book presents an overview of the concepts of ‘politics’ and of ‘the political’ in Hungary since 1526. Through a detailed methodological introduction and eleven case studies, Concepts of Politics in Modern Hungarian Thought examines various approaches taken at different turning points in the history of Hungary. The book surveys the evolution of thought on the subject, from the 16th century, when Hungary was partly under Ottoman, and partly under Habsburg rule, through the period of the dualist Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, after the Austro-Hungarian Settlement of 1867, up to the period of the Communist regime of the second half of the 20th century. Bringing together perspectives from intellectual historians, legal scholars, political philosophers and even historians of economic thought, this volume provides insights both into the political ideas of important but lesser-known Hungarian authors, and into the nature of the challenges the political community had to cope with. It deepens understanding of what was meant by the concept of ‘the political’ in different periods whilst providing a clearer picture of the shifts and continuities in Hungarian political thought and culture over the last five centuries.
