A politikai erdélyiség. Válaszok Balázs Imre József kérdéseire
Political Transylvanianism

Summary/Abstract: In a dialogue with Imre József Balázs, historian Nándor Bárdi analyzes the evolution of Transylvanism from a political-historical perspective. He traces its transformation from an early-20th-century ideology of regional autonomy into a complex minority identity discourse within Romanian–Hungarian relations. Before 1989, research on Transylvanism was largely literary and centered on its spiritual aspects, later shifting toward institutional and political history. Bárdi distinguishes between the Transylvanist vision as an intellectual construct and the practical strategies of the interwar Hungarian minority elite, highlighting their pursuit of social organization and cultural preservation. He also explores the role of figures such as Károly Kós and Miklós Bánffy, the community service ethos, and post-1945 reinterpretations of the regional identity. The discussion extends to post-1990 attempts—like the Provincia group’s regionalism—to revive the concept in the eve of European integration, concluding that Transylvanism’s enduring significance lies in its tension between political accommodation and cultural autonomy.

• Details
• Contents