The reality of Hungarian kin-state support in Vojvodina, Serbia: a minority perspective

Date

2020

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Publisher

Tartu Ülikool

Abstract

Hungary is one of the most proactive kin-states in Europe. It has more than 2 million compatriots living in neighbouring countries. With around 250.000 ethnic Hungarians, the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina is no exception. Hungary as a kin-state has its own approach towards its kin-state politics, but that does not necessarily mean that its kin-minority shares the same priorities. The benefits that ethnic Hungarians abroad receive through kin-state support are numerous and go as far as gaining the dual citizenship which provides them with the same, (if not more) rights than Hungarians from Hungary have. Why is that? The non-resident citizenship right is followed by non-resident voting rights which represent a very powerful instrument in the hands of those who know how to use it, for instance, the Hungarian political party Fidesz. However, the specificity of Hungary’s kin-state support in Serbia is that the former is an EU state, whilst the latter is moving towards EU membership. Taking into account the existential problems of the minority community, having the opportunity to obtain the EU passport for Vojvodina Hungarians is significant and has led to large scale emigration. The consequences are not only related to the impossibility of long term survival of Hungarians in their historical lands, but also to making lives of the ones who remain even more complicated. This research will observe the connection between the aim of Hungarian kin-state support and the reality of being a kin-minority in Vojvodina.

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