Creeping Right-Wing Hegemony and Its Contestations: On Public History in Contemporary Hungary

Abstract

Approaching the case study of Hungary as one in historical revisionism, this article focuses on new museums, revamped public squares, and popular historical walks which either reinforce or contest the contemporary project of right-wing hegemony. The author compares two major historical museums which both aim to address the recent past and opened in the early years of the twenty-first century; zooms in on two post-2010 initiatives to reshape major public squares in downtown Budapest; and retraces two types of walking tours that foster new awareness via historical spaces. Through these parallel case studies, the author aims to demonstrate that the ongoing project of building right-wing hegemony has produced several notable results; however, right-wing hegemony has remained contested by innovative projects that foster more inclusive visions.