Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970s

One of the defining facts of Hungary’s foreign policy is that it had political sovereignty only for short periods until 1989. At the beginning of the 1960s a pragmatic and constructive Hungarian foreign policy began to take shape, which, in the period of the détente within the Soviet Bloc, could fo...

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Main Authors: István Tarrósy, Dániel Solymári
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Hradec Králové 2025-07-01
Series:Modern Africa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/255
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author István Tarrósy
Dániel Solymári
author_facet István Tarrósy
Dániel Solymári
author_sort István Tarrósy
collection DOAJ
description One of the defining facts of Hungary’s foreign policy is that it had political sovereignty only for short periods until 1989. At the beginning of the 1960s a pragmatic and constructive Hungarian foreign policy began to take shape, which, in the period of the détente within the Soviet Bloc, could follow a relatively independent path. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was one of its key relations, and it became one of the priority foreign policy directions of Hungarian diplomacy. The diplomatic steps taken towards SSA, and the formation of the Hungarian Africa policy during the détente period, we argue, offer relevant considerations from a pragmatic international relations perspective even today. Based on archival and printed press sources, the article provides an analysis of Hungary’s “African turn” between 1960 and 1970.
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publisher University of Hradec Králové
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spelling doaj-art-7d3d9bb9b0214daba88bee2ae12c34f92025-08-20T03:58:48ZengUniversity of Hradec KrálovéModern Africa2336-32742570-75582025-07-0113110.26806/modafr.v13i1.255Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970sIstván Tarrósy0Dániel Solymári1University of PécsInterdisciplinary Doctoral School, Political Science Programme, University of Pécs, Hungary and Royal Geographical Society, UK One of the defining facts of Hungary’s foreign policy is that it had political sovereignty only for short periods until 1989. At the beginning of the 1960s a pragmatic and constructive Hungarian foreign policy began to take shape, which, in the period of the détente within the Soviet Bloc, could follow a relatively independent path. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was one of its key relations, and it became one of the priority foreign policy directions of Hungarian diplomacy. The diplomatic steps taken towards SSA, and the formation of the Hungarian Africa policy during the détente period, we argue, offer relevant considerations from a pragmatic international relations perspective even today. Based on archival and printed press sources, the article provides an analysis of Hungary’s “African turn” between 1960 and 1970. https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/255Hungarian foreign relationsCold WardétenteSub-Saharan AfricaRed AfricaSouthern Opening
spellingShingle István Tarrósy
Dániel Solymári
Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970s
Modern Africa
Hungarian foreign relations
Cold War
détente
Sub-Saharan Africa
Red Africa
Southern Opening
title Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970s
title_full Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970s
title_fullStr Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970s
title_full_unstemmed Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970s
title_short Hungarian Diplomacy towards Africa: Forging Bilateral Relations in the 1960s and 1970s
title_sort hungarian diplomacy towards africa forging bilateral relations in the 1960s and 1970s
topic Hungarian foreign relations
Cold War
détente
Sub-Saharan Africa
Red Africa
Southern Opening
url https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/255
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