Who Was the First in Transylvania. On the Origins of the Romanian-Hungarian Controversy over Minority Right
Who Was the First in Transylvania. On the Origins of the Romanian-Hungarian Controversy over Minority Right

Summary/Abstract: After the collapse of communism, among the issues that surfaced in the public sphere and stirred endless debates, the rights of the Hungarian minority had not only the greatest societal impact, but also serious consequences on Romania's image abroad. The regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, which was ideologically grounded in the most organ­ically developed blend of communism and nationalism in the entire Soviet bloc, was heavily criticized, especially during its last decade, for orchestrating a silent policy of assimilation primarily targeting the Transylvanian Hungarians. Until the electoral revo­lution of 1996, the unwillingness of the post-communist authorities to satisfy the demands of the Hungarian community in their entirety was internationally perceived as a powerful, enduring legacy of the Romanian national-communism1. Considered a manifestation of outdated nationalism, if not of sheer xenophobia, the way in which the issue of minority rights was tackled by the first two Iliescu regimes ranked high among the factors that contributed to Romania's belated start in the race for Europe.

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