Regional Processes and Spatial Structures in Hungary in the 1990's [antikvár]

PREFACEIn Central and Eastern Europe, the 1990s are the years of the great socio-economic and political transitions and rearrangements. Both the relationships within the region and the external connections of the region as a whole have fundamentally changed. Within the region, Hungary is a rare example for an "organically transforming" country. During the time of the systemic change, no violent, revolutionary events took place. However, the ten years that have passed since the systemic change are not free from conflicts.Hie aim of the book is to give an overview of the versatile regional processes of the Hungarian economic, social and political transition. We could not examine the rearrangement processes of each sector, but we think that the regional problems of the most essential activities were given a proper attention.I he introduction of the neighbourhood environment (East Central Europe) is also part of the book, in order to demonstrate the versatility of the former small socialist states (as opposed to the popular belief of many, which did not differentiate among the countries of the socialist block), as well as the induced effects of that versatility that have emerged in the transition period. The regional conse-c|uences of the systemic change to a large extent derive from the differences of the previous structures.The political geographical situation of Hungary basically changed in the transition period. In addition to the new world political and European environment, a signillcant part of the Hungarian state borders are borders to new neighbour countries now, after the disintegration of the former socialist federations. The new political geographical environment received a basically new content after the NATO accession of I lungary.The inner political and administrative rearrangements partly served the breaking down of the old structures and partly the construction of new ones. During the creation of the institutional system of regional development, the preparation for the EU accession was already a major objective.The individual sectors (agriculture, transportation, communication, tourism, banking system and financial services, tertiary sector) found themselves in new operational conditions during the construction of the market economy. The territorial processes of the individual sectors showed specific features characteristic of the given sector, also, the preparation for the accession to the Union has already started in these sectors, including the building out of new structures, part-tlnanced from EU funds.It is this period when the Hungarian economy actually returns to the circulation of the world economy. Foreign capital has acquired significant shares from the I lungarian economy, both by privatisation and by green field investments. In cer-