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 second 2016 issue.
On the cover: János Háry’s love Örzse feeding the two-headed Habsburg eagle in the courtyard of the Vienna Burg. State design by Gusztáv Oláh for the State Opera House, Budapest. Photo by courtesy of Balassi Kiadó Publishers, Budapest.
Recent issues of Hungarian Review have been heavily preoccupied with the migrant crisis as it affects Hungary and Europe. This issue is hardly an exception.
In the ‘Current’ section articles on the topic include the continuation of Tibor Frank’s account of migrations in Hungarian history (Migrations in Hungarian History – Part II); Otto Hieronymi’s study on the development of international law on migration and human rights (Globalisation, Economic and Social Order, Human Rights and Humanitarian Action – Part III); Barbara Piazza-Georgi’s analysis of Hungary’s response to the migrants’ arrival across its borders (Living Our Values, Preserving Our Values: Hungary’s Response to the 2015 European Migrant Crisis – Part I); and Géza Jeszenszky’s proposals on how Visegrád cooperation on migrant policy should work (The Visegrád Countries and the Migrants).
In his editorial note entitled ‘The Populism of the Elites’, John O’ Sullivan states that “Utopia is the populism of the elites. Mrs. Merkel’s grand experiment of inviting millions of people from North Africa and the Middle East to live in Europe won enormous admiration from UN agencies, EU bureaucrats, editors and readers of The Economist, international lawyers, those politicians who hoped for a second career in these circles after relinquishing power at home, and everyone of the progressive mentality. The risks of this grand progressive gesture were de-emphasized and criticism of it dismissed of racism. But what do the people being experimented upon think? On both sides of the frontier?”
Miklós Maróth, a realistic analyst on Islamic radicalism in his essay entitled ‘The Roots of Islamic Radicalism’, points out that it has many sources, including the exploitation of Arab and Islamic societies by Western foreign policy. “The situation became especially desperate after the discovery of oil in many Arab countries: the great powers had almost free access to the natural resources of the region, but did nothing to improve the continuously deteriorating economic conditions, and to help states take care of growing populations.”
The ‘Current’ section includes other contributions from Mikulás Dzurinda (Ukraine’s Turbulant Path of Reforms) and János Martonyi (Victims of Communism).
The periodical then continues with an ‘Essays’ section with contributions by Nicholas T. Parsons (“Progressive Politics”: The Alchemy of a Slogan”); Béla Nóvé (Ödön Pásint: A Prisoner of His Conscience – Part II) and Viivi Luik (Various States of Lies).
Finally, the ‘Arts’ section has articles by Boris Pasternak (Skazka – A Poem); Ferenc Bónis (Zoltán Kodály’s Háry János Suite: Introduction to the New Score by Universal Edition); Zsófia Bognár – Andrea Rózsavölgyi (The Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Plaster Casts of the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts) and Géza Entz (The School of András Kovács and the Transylvanian Renaissance).
Currently, 31 issues of the Hungarian Review (from 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016) can be ordered from Amazon.com; or directly from the publisher; or by calling the Coalition office in Washington.