Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NIWGE (New industrial workers of a globalizing Europe: Right-wing populism, working-class power and the legacy of state socialism in East Germany and Hungary)
Período documentado: 2020-01-01 hasta 2021-12-31
Objective of the project
The main aim of my project was to interrogate the question of why “elite” workers, who are better paid, enjoy higher job security, better working conditions, and more “voice” at the workplace than workers of small and medium-sized, “domestic” enterprises , and who can be termed as “opinion-leaders” at their workplace, are responsive to right-wing, populist discourses and politics. I have therefore selected the automotive sector. The loci of the case studies in Hungary were Győr (Audi) and Kecskemét (Mercedes), where contacts have been established with the local trade unions, and pilot projects were conducted (2015-2016). The sites of the fieldwork in Germany were Dresden and Zwickau. Here I received important and essential support from my supervisor, Professor Thomas Lindenberger, the director of the host institute, my student assistant, Johann-Christoph Landgraf, and the Technische Universität (TU) Dresden, which has very strong contacts to the leading industries of the city (“Dresden-concept”).
Why is it important for society?
The project contended that the specific Eastern European historical legacies alongside a longue durée perspective should receive more emphasis in the research. The specific historical legacy of state socialism not only included the “dictatorship of the proletariat”; it also encompassed a specific lifestyle and mentality.
Kopstein and Ziblatt (2006) showed that this division continued to be present also in the political sphere, e. g. between Eastern and Western Germany, which triggered “unlikely” coalitions instead of the traditional party alliances. The radical left – and nowadays the radical right – “performed” better in Eastern Germany than in the Western provinces. However, while the far-right wing forces are very far from grasping the political power in Germany, in the Hungarian case,e. g. Gábor Scheiring speaks of authoritarian capitalism (The Retreat of Liberal Democracy: Authoritarian Capitalism and the Accumulative State in Hungary, 2020). My contention is that labor studies can contribute to the understanding of the retreat of liberal democracy in Hungary, and can support new policies in order to “win” Hungary and Hungarian workers back to democracy instead of the “illiberalism” that the ruling party has been advocating.
The main aim of my project was to interrogate the question of why “elite” workers, who are better paid, enjoy higher job security, better working conditions, and more “voice” at the workplace than workers of small and medium-sized, “domestic” enterprises , and who can be termed as “opinion-leaders” at their workplace, are responsive to right-wing, populist discourses and politics. I have therefore selected the automotive sector. The loci of the case studies in Hungary were Győr (Audi) and Kecskemét (Mercedes), where contacts have been established with the local trade unions, and pilot projects were conducted (2015-2016). The sites of the fieldwork in Germany were Dresden and Zwickau. Here I received important and essential support from my supervisor, Professor Thomas Lindenberger, the director of the host institute, my student assistant, Johann-Christoph Landgraf, and the Technische Universität (TU) Dresden, which has very strong contacts to the leading industries of the city (“Dresden-concept”).
Why is it important for society?
The project contended that the specific Eastern European historical legacies alongside a longue durée perspective should receive more emphasis in the research. The specific historical legacy of state socialism not only included the “dictatorship of the proletariat”; it also encompassed a specific lifestyle and mentality.
Kopstein and Ziblatt (2006) showed that this division continued to be present also in the political sphere, e. g. between Eastern and Western Germany, which triggered “unlikely” coalitions instead of the traditional party alliances. The radical left – and nowadays the radical right – “performed” better in Eastern Germany than in the Western provinces. However, while the far-right wing forces are very far from grasping the political power in Germany, in the Hungarian case,e. g. Gábor Scheiring speaks of authoritarian capitalism (The Retreat of Liberal Democracy: Authoritarian Capitalism and the Accumulative State in Hungary, 2020). My contention is that labor studies can contribute to the understanding of the retreat of liberal democracy in Hungary, and can support new policies in order to “win” Hungary and Hungarian workers back to democracy instead of the “illiberalism” that the ruling party has been advocating.
The planned life-history interviews have been conducted, and the secondary literature has been collected and analyzed.
My fieldwork interrogated the question as to what extent workers of the multinational companies are responsive to right-wing populism in Eastern Germany and Hungary and what factors can be identified that account for the appeal of right-wing ideologies instead of the traditional working-class alliance with the political left. It applied a broad explanatory framework by examining work-related issues such as all forms and content of “voice” at the workplace, job satisfaction, training and career opportunities as well as labour power as elaborated by Wright (2000). The following factors have been identified: 1) criminalization of the state socialist past 2) disappointment in the old left 3) the appeal of ethno-nationalistic arguments including strong anti-Roma sentiments and the attraction of a strong anti-migrant rhetoric, and – in case of Hungary – a targeted and massive governmental propaganda) 4) perception of exploitation by the technocracy and the “global” (or multinational) capital 5) strongly pronounced masculine identities and conservative gender roles, traditional family values.
The crisis of the “old” moral economy – as described by Kopstein – facilitated the formation of new, ethnic, or outright racist identities (e.g. in the Hungarian case, explicitly contrasting the “unworthy” Roma people with the majority society). My fieldwork confirmed the argument of Margit Feischmidt and Peter Hervik: the once “extremist” views have become mainstreamed and (more) generally accepted. While in the research that I conducted at the beginning of the 2000s, “older” workers (socialized under state socialism) in both countries refrained from openly expressing racist sentiments (even if they held such biases), in the new research, when workers were interviewed (also) in focus groups in Hungary, they openly used “massively” racist stereotypes (e.g. against Roma people) in order to stress that they [the workers] belonged to the majority society characterized by hard work, diligence, discipline, a strong work ethic – “core” values, which continued to be held in a high esteem in working-class families. By combining historical and sociological methods, I couldf thus offer a long durée perspective in my work, while also utilizing new directions in labour sociology.
Selection of the most important publications:
English book chapters:
Bartha Eszter-Tóth András: What Lies Beneath the Appeal of the Radical Right to Elite Skilled Workers? The Impact of Deeply Ingrained Nationalism and Perceptions of Multiple Exploitations, In: Feischmidt, Margit; Majtényi, Balázs (eds.): The Rise of Populist Nationalism : Social Resentments and Capturing the Constitution in Hungary Budapest, Magyarország. 2020, pp. 277-298.
Bartha Eszter: “This Workers’ Hostel Lost Almost Every Bit of Added Value It Had”: Workers’ Hostels, Social Rights and Legitimization in Hungary and the German Democratic Republic. In: Marsha, Siefert (ed.) Labor in State-Socialist Europe, 1945–1989 : contributions to a history of work. Budapest, CEU Press, pp. 167-194.
Bartha Eszter: Questioning the (gender) regime?: Women workers and labour sociology in Hungary in the 1970s. In: Luleva, Ana (ed.): Everyday Socialism: Promises, Realities asnd Strategies. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2022.
English journal articles:
Bartha, Eszter – Tóth, András: The Emasculation of Trade Unions and Workers’ Drift to Neonationalism. Europe-Asia Studies, 2021, Vol. 73. Issue 9. (Open Access, thanks tot he Fellowship).
Bartha Eszter: In the spur of a vanishing heritage: The Hungarian rustbelt. Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 2021/2.
In addition, I edited two books in Hungarian, published a total of five book chapters in Hungarian and a journal article in Hungarian.
Dissemination: I lectured at 12 conferences, organized one panel (Labor movement in East-Central Europe after 1989) for ELHN 4. Conference, and held one colloquium at my host institute.
My fieldwork interrogated the question as to what extent workers of the multinational companies are responsive to right-wing populism in Eastern Germany and Hungary and what factors can be identified that account for the appeal of right-wing ideologies instead of the traditional working-class alliance with the political left. It applied a broad explanatory framework by examining work-related issues such as all forms and content of “voice” at the workplace, job satisfaction, training and career opportunities as well as labour power as elaborated by Wright (2000). The following factors have been identified: 1) criminalization of the state socialist past 2) disappointment in the old left 3) the appeal of ethno-nationalistic arguments including strong anti-Roma sentiments and the attraction of a strong anti-migrant rhetoric, and – in case of Hungary – a targeted and massive governmental propaganda) 4) perception of exploitation by the technocracy and the “global” (or multinational) capital 5) strongly pronounced masculine identities and conservative gender roles, traditional family values.
The crisis of the “old” moral economy – as described by Kopstein – facilitated the formation of new, ethnic, or outright racist identities (e.g. in the Hungarian case, explicitly contrasting the “unworthy” Roma people with the majority society). My fieldwork confirmed the argument of Margit Feischmidt and Peter Hervik: the once “extremist” views have become mainstreamed and (more) generally accepted. While in the research that I conducted at the beginning of the 2000s, “older” workers (socialized under state socialism) in both countries refrained from openly expressing racist sentiments (even if they held such biases), in the new research, when workers were interviewed (also) in focus groups in Hungary, they openly used “massively” racist stereotypes (e.g. against Roma people) in order to stress that they [the workers] belonged to the majority society characterized by hard work, diligence, discipline, a strong work ethic – “core” values, which continued to be held in a high esteem in working-class families. By combining historical and sociological methods, I couldf thus offer a long durée perspective in my work, while also utilizing new directions in labour sociology.
Selection of the most important publications:
English book chapters:
Bartha Eszter-Tóth András: What Lies Beneath the Appeal of the Radical Right to Elite Skilled Workers? The Impact of Deeply Ingrained Nationalism and Perceptions of Multiple Exploitations, In: Feischmidt, Margit; Majtényi, Balázs (eds.): The Rise of Populist Nationalism : Social Resentments and Capturing the Constitution in Hungary Budapest, Magyarország. 2020, pp. 277-298.
Bartha Eszter: “This Workers’ Hostel Lost Almost Every Bit of Added Value It Had”: Workers’ Hostels, Social Rights and Legitimization in Hungary and the German Democratic Republic. In: Marsha, Siefert (ed.) Labor in State-Socialist Europe, 1945–1989 : contributions to a history of work. Budapest, CEU Press, pp. 167-194.
Bartha Eszter: Questioning the (gender) regime?: Women workers and labour sociology in Hungary in the 1970s. In: Luleva, Ana (ed.): Everyday Socialism: Promises, Realities asnd Strategies. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2022.
English journal articles:
Bartha, Eszter – Tóth, András: The Emasculation of Trade Unions and Workers’ Drift to Neonationalism. Europe-Asia Studies, 2021, Vol. 73. Issue 9. (Open Access, thanks tot he Fellowship).
Bartha Eszter: In the spur of a vanishing heritage: The Hungarian rustbelt. Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 2021/2.
In addition, I edited two books in Hungarian, published a total of five book chapters in Hungarian and a journal article in Hungarian.
Dissemination: I lectured at 12 conferences, organized one panel (Labor movement in East-Central Europe after 1989) for ELHN 4. Conference, and held one colloquium at my host institute.
Personal developments thanks to the Fellowship:
I won a 1st prize with a Hungarian article at the contest of Hungarian sociography (What kind of life is this? The heterogeneous working-class experience of the change of regimes).
I was elected editor-in-chief of the Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe
I also serve as a Board Member of ITH (International Conference of Labor and Social History
Further forms of dissemination:
a Special Issue edited by Professor Thomas Lindenberger for the summer issue of the journal Totalitarismus und Demokratie (Labour and Right-wing Populism
a blog contribution to the blog site of the institute Denken ohne Geländer
Wider social implications:
New policies have been suggested for the trade unions for labor revitalization (cooperarion bertween IG Metall and the Hungarian trade union Vasas, and for social and political actors in Hungary in order to "win" the segment of the workers with the highest "voice" and prestige back to the socialist party in Hungary.
I won a 1st prize with a Hungarian article at the contest of Hungarian sociography (What kind of life is this? The heterogeneous working-class experience of the change of regimes).
I was elected editor-in-chief of the Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe
I also serve as a Board Member of ITH (International Conference of Labor and Social History
Further forms of dissemination:
a Special Issue edited by Professor Thomas Lindenberger for the summer issue of the journal Totalitarismus und Demokratie (Labour and Right-wing Populism
a blog contribution to the blog site of the institute Denken ohne Geländer
Wider social implications:
New policies have been suggested for the trade unions for labor revitalization (cooperarion bertween IG Metall and the Hungarian trade union Vasas, and for social and political actors in Hungary in order to "win" the segment of the workers with the highest "voice" and prestige back to the socialist party in Hungary.