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Kiss-Kozma, Georgina

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PhD Dissertation Book 
Book of Thesis 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Georgina Kiss-Kozma 
 
 
 
2021 
 
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Pázmány Péter Catholic University  
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences  
Doctoral School of Political Theory 
Director: Prof. Dr. Balázs Mezei, DSC 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE ACTIVE HUNGARIAN YOUTH IN 
TRANSYLVANIA 
The institutionalization of Hungarian youth organisations 
in Transylvania from the point of view of minority nation 
building 
 
 
 
 
 
Georgina Kiss-Kozma  
Supervisor: Dr. Zoltán Kántor 
 
2021 
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1. Antecedents of the research and main questions 
 
The aim of my dissertation is to examine the 
institutionalization of Hungarian youth organization in Transylvania. 
The most crucial political changes in the history of the Hungarian 
minority of Romania happened during the 1918 regime change. The 
following two regime changes in 1944 and 1989 did not impose a 
paradigm change either, but at the same time they significantly 
affected the frameworks and opportunities for self-organisation and 
self-expression. The regime change created a wholly new situation. 
Thus, the events of 1989 serve as a natural starting point for the 
reinvigoration of the Hungarian public life in Transylvania. After the 
disintegration of the bipolar world order, the new political and legal 
environment favoured the self-organisation of the Hungarian minority 
in Transylvania. As a result of this, new organisations started 
springing up, and old organisations were re-established. During the 
reinvigoration of civil society following the fall of the Ceaușescu-
regime, the youth were the most dynamic factor in the democratisation 
process. In the year 1989, in the context of the post-revolutionary 
atmosphere, local RMDSZ bodies and youth organisations were 
founded in Transylvanian settlements simultaneously and in parallel. 
The latter mostly bore the name MADISZ (Hungarian Democratic 
Youth Union). Despite this, examining Hungarian youth organisations 
is not one of the most popular topics when it comes to studies on the 
Hungarian society in Transylvania. 
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The Hungarian youth in Transylvania has got specific 
characteristics in more than one respect. During its examinations, at 
least two dimensions have to be taken into account, as in addition to 
the youth aspect, the national aspect is also of key importance. During 
the research, the first and maybe the most significant question was 
this: from the point of view of which discipline should the topic be 
analysed? Is there a theoretical framework that allows the two aspects 
to be examined weighted equally, or should one aspect be chosen as 
the basis of the key aspects during the research? Determining the unit 
of analysis was also an important decision; should the Hungarian 
youth organisations or their institutionalization be the main focus? 
When focusing on the youth organisations, all three aspects of the 
analytical unit can be underlined. Should one concentrate on the youth 
aspect, a youth sociology approach can be adopted. If the Hungarian 
aspect is emphasised, a nationalism theory approach seems relevant. 
If the organisational aspect is the main aspect, organisational 
sociology theories can be applied. When focusing on the 
institutionalization process, the history of the Hungarians in 
Transylvania cannot be overlooked. In this case, an important aspect 
has to be taken into account from a socio-historical point of view: at 
the most important historical turning points (regime changes of 1918, 
1944 and 1989), the Hungarian society in Transylvania organised 
itself on a national principle. Thus, the attempts of the Hungarian 
society in Transylvania to organise itself can be regarded as an 
institutionalization process based on a national principle. This process 
can be examined through theories on nationalism. 
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2. Methodology 
 
In the first part of the dissertation, the key aspects and 
theoretical approaches of three disciplines (youth sociology, 
nationalism theory, and organisational sociology) are analysed in 
order to define which discipline and which theories can provide an 
adequate theoretical framework for the analysis of the 
institutionalization of Hungarian youth organisations in Transylvania.  
During the literature review, no integrative theoretical 
approaches were found that would analyse with an equal weight the 
youth and national aspects. A decision was then made to focus on the 
institutionalization process in my dissertation. Thus, the 
methodological starting point of the dissertation which defines the 
analysis procedure was decided to be minority nation building 
process, from the field of study of nationalism. This certainly does not 
mean that the youth and organisational aspects will not appear during 
the analysis, but the research questions do not refer to these aspects. 
In the second part of the dissertation, the institutionalization 
of the Hungarian youth organisations in Transylvania are analysed. 
The most important historical turning points of the Hungarians in 
Transylvania are first reviewed from a historical point of view. I focus 
on the youth aspect of these turning points, in particular on presenting 
two intellectual groups, Transylvanian Youth (Erdélyi Fiatalok) and 
Trust (Hitel), which were the dominant youth intellectual groups from 
the point of view of inner publicity during the interwar period. When 
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presenting the periods in question, mostly secondary sources were 
used. Contemporary press materials were used when available. 
Thereafter, the changes in national politicy after 1989 were described. 
This was followed by an attempt to divide into periods the 
institutionalization process of the Hungarian youth organisations in 
Transylvania after the Romanian revolution in 1989.  
It was attempted to present the positions that were taken in 
the most important issues and the positions and strategies that 
appeared alongside the potential fault lines within the political and 
youth elite. While examining these fault lines it is crucial to note that 
political differences of opinion within Hungarian youth organizations 
reflect divisions within not the entire Hungarian youth community, but 
the conflicts primarily concern the inner circles of youth elites. The 
periodisation of the Hungarian youth organisations’ 
institutionalization process also includes the major changes that were 
the starting point of the new periods. The aim was not to provide a 
simple chronological order of the events, but also to interpret the 
background processes of these events. The turning points are also 
often related to a conflict. In this chapter, it was attempted to present 
the different viewpoints, positions and strategies in these conflicts. 
The third and final chapter describes my experience on the 
study trip to Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca). The new, unconventional 
forms of civil initiatives that were met during the study trip are also 
presented. 
 
 
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3. Conclusions and results 
 
In the theoretical chapter, I present the theoretical and 
conceptual approaches of the national minority youth. In the chapter 
that contains the periodisation of the Hungarian youth organisations’ 
institutionalization, two more phenomena are described. On one hand, 
the potential fault lines within the political and youth elite; and on the 
other hand, the disputed issues that arose in the community life of the 
Hungarian youth in Transylvania. 
During the foundation period (1989–1990), a number of 
mass movements formed. This initial momentum led to the 
establishment of many organisations with thousands of members, in 
addition mass events were organised. The youth organisation network 
was comprised of grassroots organisations that started springing up 
simultaneously with the older generations’ organisations. Within a 
relatively short period of time, youth organisations started interacting 
with each other and, after a number of national-level meetings, 
established their first umbrella organisations. They cooperated closely 
with the older generations, but at the same time they preserved their 
independence. The youth organised itself on a national principle and 
addressed not only generational issues, but were actively involved 
from the very beginning in solving issues which concern the whole 
Hungarian community in Transylvania, for example the fight for 
ethnic rights. 
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The pioneering period (1990–1995) could be best described 
with a general perception of “everything is possible”. The decisive 
moment of this period was the integration of MISZSZ into the 
RMDSZ structure, which was practically the integration of the 
Hungarian youth elite into the political life of the community. The 
main fault line appeared between two youth elite groups: those who 
engaged in politics and those who engaged in civil activities and 
distanced themselves from politics. 
During the period of pact-based politics (1995–2001), the 
organisation network was based on agreements between the pillars 
that represented youth organisations (organisations representing 
university students, high school students, religious youth etc.). The 
most important aspect of these agreements was to establish common 
representation. Another important agreement in this period was the 
cooperation of RMDSZ and MIT, the youth umbrella organisation that 
strived to represent the whole Hungarian youth in Romania. The most 
important conflicts of this period are also tied to RMDSZ. 
The main conflict that defined the fragmentation period of 
the Hungarian youth organisations in Transylvania (after 2001) was 
their attitude towards RMDSZ. The Hungarian subculture in Romania 
formed along an ethnic fault line. However, another fault line emerged 
in the subculture as well, and it institutionalised by the end of the 
2000’s. It was created by the conflict between central RMDSZ 
leadership and its internal opposition. The regional opposition 
between Catholics and Protestants was much less significant. 
Conflicts generated by the generation gap had also weakened. The 
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“radical-moderate” conflict, however, had a strong structuring force. 
On one hand, central RMDSZ leadership (“the moderates”) focused 
mainly on the integration of the Hungarians living in Transylvania into 
Romanian society. On the other hand, RMDSZ opposition (“the 
radicals”) called for the integration of the Hungarians living in 
Transylvania as an autonomous society. This opposition was 
reproduced in the Hungarian youth organisation network of Romania, 
creating a political culture of fragmentation, characterised by 
conflicts, and goals that are often mutually exclusive. The internal 
opposition and the MIT member organisations, that took the “radical” 
side distanced themselves from RMDSZ leadership. This conflict led 
to MIT voluntarily leaving the RMDSZ Council of Representatives 
(SZKT). They thought that leaving the Council will weaken RMDSZ 
legitimacy, as without the youth, RMDSZ will no longer represent the 
whole Hungarian community in Transylvania. 
RMDSZ initially handed over youth policy competences to 
the self-organising youth. Their key youth partners were first MISZSZ 
and OMDSZ, then MIT. The most important RMDSZ decision 
regarding youth policies was to institutionalize their relationship with 
youth umbrella organisations that incorporated quasi-independently 
organised and functioning youth organisations. By this, youth 
organisations became involved in the decision-making structure of 
RMDSZ. By the 2000’s, tensions were rising between MIT and 
RMDSZ. The situation had become untenable not only for the youth, 
but also for RMDSZ. This is when RMDSZ started to address youth 
policy issues. The first and most important step was to support the 
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establishment of a youth umbrella organisation (MIÉRT) that 
incorporates the youth organisations that are willing to cooperate with 
RMDSZ. Thus, MIÉRT filled up the vacuum in RMDSZ legitimacy 
that arose after MIT left. 
After the pioneering era, the Hungarian youth organisation 
network pluralised. In parallel with RMDSZ becoming a political 
party, the attitude towards RMDSZ became the main fault line 
between youth organisations. This became a structural factor that led 
to a political and, later, organisational fragmentation. In parallel with 
the escalation of the conflict between MIT and RMDSZ, a new youth 
structure arose. This ended a period of institutionalization in the youth 
organisation network. The period between 1995 and 2001 was defined 
by a push for a common representation. After the fragmentation of the 
youth organisation network, however, the youth organisations that 
shared ideologies and cooperated with RMDSZ separated from those 
who distanced themselves from RMDSZ and played the role of the 
opposition. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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4. Publications related to this topic 
 
Kiss-Kozma Georgina: Színes kisebbség, mozgalmas ifjúság: (Papp. 
Z. Attila (szerk.): Változó kisebbség. Kárpát-medencei magyar 
fiatalok – A GeneZYs 2015 kutatás eredményei.) Kisebbségi Szemle, 
2018. 3 (1). 67 – 81. 
 
Kiss-Kozma Georgina: Ifjúsági Évkönyv – Erdélyi fiatalokról: (Bodó 
Barna (szerk.) Erdélyi Magyar Civil Évkönyv 2016-2017 – A Mi 
fiataljaink.) Kisebbségi Szemle, 2018. 3 (3). 119 – 127.  
 
Kiss-Kozma Georgina: Pillanatkép a magyar ifjúságról: (Az ifjúság 
kutatássorozat legfrisseb hulláma – Székely Levente (szerk.): Magyar 
fiatalok a Kárpát-medencében – Magyar Ifjúság Kutatás 2016.) 
Kisebbségi Szemle, 2019. 4 (1). 93 – 105.  
 
Kiss-Kozma Georgina (2019): A romániai magyar ifjúsági 
szervezetek intézményesülése a rendszerváltást követően – 
Politológus doktoranduszok V. konferenciája – BCE 
Politikatudományi Doktori Iskola, Budapest, konferenciaelőadás. 
Kiss-Kozma Georgina: Egy új perspektíva a romániai magyar ifjúsági 
szervezetek intézményesülésének vizsgálatához. Pro Minoritate, 
2021, tavasz. 77 – 104.  
Kiss-Kozma Georgina: Kísérlet a romániai magyar ifjúsági 
szervezetek intézményesülésének periodizációjára. Kisebbségi 
Szemle, 2021. 6 (1). 27 – 48.  
 
 
 
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