Washington, DC – The “Hungarian Review”, the English-language affiliate of the bi-monthly journal Magyar Szemle, edited by Gyula Kodolányi and John O’Sullivan, has published its fourth issue for 2020.
On the cover: The courtyard of the Vajdahunyad Castle with the loggia built by Imre Steindl in the first half of the 1870s. © Géza Entz
In the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world and all countries are facing unprecedented challenges created by the coronavirus, so reflections on these trying times are dominant in this issue. The ‘Current’ section contains three articles on this topic by Lívia Mohás (“The Pandemic and the Spirit – Four Ways Humanity Can Renew Itself after the Virus Attack”); Ferenc Horkay Hörcher (“Political Philosophy in a Time of Pandemic – Part I-II”); and István Kiss (“The Crisis Management Efficiency of International Organizations – In Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic”).
In his article entitled “Political Philosophy in a Time of Pandemic”, Ferenc Horkay Hörcher writes: “Epidemic has returned, and now rages as a global pandemic. The most probable explanation for the rapid spread of the virus is globalisation itself, as well as the concomitant issues of overpopulation, the unprecedented scale of modern urbanisation, fundamental changes in our way of life – including the worldwide mobility of both goods and labour – and global mass tourism. It seems that when globalisation was being subjected to a cost-benefit analysis, this aspect was ignored: either conveniently brushed aside, or at least not afforded sufficient weight. Perhaps it was imagined that the cost could be passed on to others. Now the world must reckon with this oversight. The question is whether this hard-won lesson will be enough to halt the process, or whether it would require some further and yet more sobering calamity to alter the trajectory of the global economic and financial system.”
Another article in this section deals with Brexit and is written by Gergely Egedy (“Brexit: the Conservative Dilemma – The Principle of Majority and National Sovereignty’).
The periodical then continues with an ‘Essays’ section with contributions by Daniel J. Mahoney (“Reflections on the Counter-revolution in France – Democratic Conservatism Confronts Communism, Islam and Western Self-hatred – Part II”); David A. J. Reynolds (“The Roots of Communist Hungary in the Allied Occupation – The Allied Commission of Budapest – Part IV”); Zoltán Fekete-Szalóky and Péter Pásztor (“…then they said: malenky robot” – The 681,000 Prisoner-of-war Record Cards Received from Russia in 2019”); Gyula Illyés (“Religion – A Chapter from Russia, 1934”); Antal Babus (“A Clear-eyed Poet in the Land of the Soviets – A Background to Gyula Illyés’s Russia – Part I”); and Barbara Piazza-Georgi (“The Return of the Order of Malta to Hungary – Its Role Leading up to the Events of Summer 1989”).
The ‘Essays’ section is followed by the ‘History’ section with articles by Gyula Kodolányi (“Inner Strength and the Gravity of Words – Ronald Reagan Meeting József Antall in 1990”) and Géza Jeszenszky (“Overcoming the Baneful Legacy of Trianon”).
Finally, the ‘Literature and the Arts’ section features an article by József Sisa (“An indefatigable American Scholar of Central Europe’s Architecture – In Memory of Dora Wiebenson”).
Currently, 55 issues of the Hungarian Review from 2010 through 2020 can be ordered from amazon.com; or directly from the publisher; or by calling the Coalition office in Washington.