Párhuzamos poliszok a szabadság és autonómia védelmében az államszocializmusban és a választási autokráciában

Abstract

Eszter Kirs’s paper presents the Hungarian version of a comparative study that demonstrates how underground communities in communist and youth protest movements in electoral autocratic Hungary nurtured the spirit of political freedom while building an apolitical identity, refraining from mobilizing for regime change. Free action in autonomous spaces of appearance related to the following movements was explored: (1) the Balatonboglár Chapel Studio (1970-73), (2) the Monday Free University (1978-85), (3) the Student Network (2011- 13), and (4) the FreeSZFE protest movements (2020). Parallel phenomena were found regarding their goals and operation, governmental attacks, and resilience strategies. Findings are based on desk research focused on case studies and civil society-related concepts of Eastern European theorists, as well as on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with key members of the above movements and experts.