ROMANIAN PERCEPTIONS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE REGARDING THE HUNGARIAN MINORITY DURING THE OPTANTS DISPUTE (1922-1930)
ROMANIAN PERCEPTIONS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE REGARDING THE HUNGARIAN MINORITY DURING THE OPTANTS DISPUTE (1922-1930)

Summary/Abstract: The Romanian-Hungarian optants dispute is a well-known topic, having been featured on the front pages of newspapers in various countries for several years and being the subject of extensive literature on international law, land ownership, and citizenship, particularly during the interwar period. Moreover, it has served as a legal example for other disputes between countries and is still studied by specialists in international law. For the Romanian government, the sovereignty of the State was intangible and non-negotiable, an idea which constitutes a central feature of presenting this case in the press. Additionally, Romanian mass media portrayed the agrarian reforms not solely as a domestic policy but also as upholding the principle of equality before the law with no motivation based on ethnicity. The main objective of this paper is to identify how the Romanian newspapers used the optants question to frame the majority-minority relationship in Romania, particularly concerning the portrayal of the Hungarian minority. How are the optants described? Are the Hungarians who choose Romanian citizenship acclaimed when compared with the Hungarian optants and visibly considered full citizens?

• Details
• Contents