Kisebbségpolitikai
On-line Lexikon

The Antall government’s foreign policy was defined by three priorities: 1. Euro-Atlantic integration, 2. putting the neighbourhood policy on a new footing, and 3. representing the interests of Hungarians living beyond the borders of Hungary. In addition to striking a delicate balance within this triple priority, kin-state policy itself had to be embedded in the work of government and the appropriate institutional framework had to be set up. The establishment of the Government Office for Hungarian Minorities Abroad (1992), the Illyés Foundation (1990) and Duna Television (1992) served this purpose. The Antall government’s kin-state policy had three objectives. It undertook the diplomatic protection of Hungarian minorities based on international human rights and minority rights standards and contributed to the strengthening of international minority protection in the early 1990s. On the other hand – drawing on Western European models – it created a Central European model (system of self-government) for dealing with the minority issue, and in parallel Hungarian parties beyond the borders developed their concepts of autonomy and co-nation. The third decisive factor was the thesis which became known as the Antall Doctrine, according to which no decisions on kin-state policy issues can be made without listening to the opinions of Hungarians living beyond the borders.