Volumen 10 (2016): Edición 1 (December 2016)

The question is how the global and local economic actors’ innovation-based local social and environmental objectives and results can modify the social cohesion strategies, how the disparities in economic and social development can be measured and evaluated at regional level in addition to a comparison across countries. We have seen that any one indicator in itself is not enough since it does not provide sufficient explanation for either the development disparities or their reasons. Anyway, in addition to GDP per capita, it is worth applying - and it is important to apply - such indicators as SPI and Well-Being, and various indices of social progress.

The study aims to give a comprehensive explanation on how regional construction took place in the European history related to the state-building processes and how the historical heritage of the European state-construction influences today the social construction of the regions. With regard to the state-building processes, the study started from Hechter’s model of ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ state and his interpretation on the relationship between core regions and peripheries. This model operates with the centralizing power of the state, but from the last decades of the 20^th century it was proved via the ‘new regionalism’ that social construction processes became more relevant in shaping new subnational regions. This last aspect is described by Paasi, and the study argues for a new concept of regional identity as a territorial ‘product’ of interacting governance and local society.

The first part of the study debates the role and the status of philosophy in the Hungarian culture in Transylvania, trying to explain why philosophy has not become an organic part of the Transylvanian culture as a whole. There are presented a few experimental and theoretical arguments, especially the theory of the so-called ‘short philosophical tradition’. The second part the paper seeks to analyse the impact of the ‘short philosophical tradition’ on the current philosophy life in Transylvania, bringing an overview of the institutional structure of Hungarian philosophy in Transylvania.

Both the concept and the issue of civil society is a matter of dispute in respect of theory and practice alike. The present paper has a triple ambition: outlining the history of ideas behind the concept, providing an interpretation, and carrying out a distinct analysis of the processes characteristic of the East-Central European region. Owing to the unrealistic expectations formed around the concept, mystification poses a great danger to present-day civil society. In what follows, we will analyse the dilemmas evolved around the issue of civil society.

The paper deals with the theme of the Transylvanian Party [Erdélyi Párt], one of the most important Hungarian political formations in Transylvania in the 20^th century. After the reintegration of Northern Transylvania in the Hungarian state following the Second Vienna Arbitration, Hungarians became a majority in the region, established their own political party, the Transylvanian Party, with powerful local characteristics. The paper concentrates on the analysis of the Transylvanian Party, it presents its foundation, its representation in the Hungarian Parliament, and its relations with the Hungarian government. The paper tries to give an overview of the successes and failures of the party as well. Finally, the decline of the Transylvanian Party and its political heritage are presented. The source material of the paper consists of archival data, publications of the Transylvanian Party, special books, studies, articles of the contemporary press, and on-line publications.

This paper analyses the integration strategies formulated by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania and the Hungarian political elite in the post-communist period. It argues that the internal debates of the political community are formulated in a field where other actors (the Hungarian and the Romanian state, political parties, European institutions, etc.) carry out their activities, which deeply influences both the chosen strategies and the needed resources for their implementation. Moreover, it questions the monolithic organization of the minority organization, showing that DAHR as the representative of the minority community was shaped by several internal debates and conflicts. Also from 2003 these conflicts have grown beyond the borders of the organization and since 2008 we can follow a whole new type of institutionalization. In achieving this, I introduce three strategies - individual integration, collective integration, and organizational integration - which are chosen by different fragments of the Hungarian minority elite both toward the Hungarian and the Romanian political sphere. Throughout the 1989-2012 period, the outcome of the conflict between the supporters of these strategies is deeply influenced by the policies of the two states.

Taking into account the recent change in Romanian civil legislation, we consider the present scientific material very useful for an overview of this institution under the auspices of the New Civil Code. The national legal provisions set clear, therefore, that the property is divided into two institutions, the public property and the private property. Property classification is very important in this form for us to understand the legal nature and the applicable regime for each type of property. Moreover, the property right, either private or public, has an elite regulation in most European laws, but also in universal laws the respect for it and the guarantee of this right can be also found in the fundamental human rights, in the international treaties, and in the constitutions of different nations. We will try, therefore, to offer a brief overview of the new Romanian legislation in the mentioned field, which is already harmonized with European legislation, the result being the New Romanian Civil Code. We believe that the interpretation should be considerably more extensive, but - pragmatically - we will try to capture the main theoretical and practical features to denote the importance of this institution.

The current study is a result of the Hungarian government’s aspiration to cut bureaucracy and increase public administration’s efficiency, thus impacting personnel and reorganizing the labour market. The public-sector headcount reduction is being justified in terms of Hungary’s inadequate private-/public-sector employment ratio. This reorganization can come to fruition only via the development of intellectual capital and a well-designed system for retraining and further education. In cases of retraining and further education offered by the state, we must be wary of generational differences and possible motivations, while also keeping in mind the influence education can have on the market, society, and the individual. Our research has shown that the demand for a given type of instruction is also influenced by the generational differences among those who wish to learn. Overall, our respondents showed an interest in learning.