Journals Information
Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 5(8), pp. 664 - 676
DOI: 10.13189/sa.2017.050811
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The Changes of Hungarian Security Policy Preferences in the First Years of World War II (1938-1941)
Lajos Olasz *
Department of Applied Social Sciences and Minority Policy, University of Szeged, Hungary
ABSTRACT
Between the two World Wars, the relationship towards the neighbouring countries determined the main aspects of the Hungarian security policy. After World War I, huge areas and more than 3 million Hungarian inhabitants were detached from Hungary and annexed to the neighbouring countries. Hungarian politics mostly took efforts to re-annex these territories, what highly increased pressure with the neighbouring Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. After the outburst of World War II, the relationship with the two expansive world-powers, Germany and the Soviet Union got more emphasis. In the eyes of the Hungarian government, Berlin simultaneously represented a threat and a support to re-annex the detached territories. During the period of the outburst of the World War, the Hungarian political elite maintained its viewpoint focusing mainly on the territorial disputes going on with the neighbouring states. In theory, it evaluated the potential risks threatening the country well. In practice, however, it rather only drifted with the events and made narrow-minded decisions that did not consider wider perspective.
KEYWORDS
History of Hungary, Central Europe, Security Policy, Territorial Revision, Armed Neutrality, World War II
Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Lajos Olasz , "The Changes of Hungarian Security Policy Preferences in the First Years of World War II (1938-1941)," Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 5, No. 8, pp. 664 - 676, 2017. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2017.050811.
(b). APA Format:
Lajos Olasz (2017). The Changes of Hungarian Security Policy Preferences in the First Years of World War II (1938-1941). Sociology and Anthropology, 5(8), 664 - 676. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2017.050811.