Scientia Publishing House – Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania

This book examines the evolution of Hungarian–Romanian interstate relations in the period following the regime change of 1989, focusing on those debates and decisions of national policy significance – the negotiations concerning the Hungarian–Romanian basic treaty, the debates surrounding the Status Law, and the introduction of dual citizenship and the simplified naturalization procedure – that proved pivotal in shaping interstate relations between Hungary and Romania.

Although the signing of the basic treaty in September 1996, the change of government, and the co-optation of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) into executive power resulted in a remarkable improvement in interstate cooperation, the objectives of Hungary’s kin-state policy, ethno-political minority claims and enforcement of minority rights in Romania, and the position of the RMDSZ in domestic politics have been  subject of interstate disputes on several occasions in recent decades.

The volume analyses not only the opposing interests of the actors involved in the debates and decisions – Hungary, Romania, the RMDSZ, and European institutions –, the intricate process of decision-making, and the complex nature of diplomatic negotiation but also the strategies through which the actors pursued their specific interests in domestic politics, interstate relations, and, in some cases, at the European level.