Absztrakt

The fact that crime (or any criminal act) is socially constructed is perhaps most conspicuous in the case of politically motivated actions. This is especially evident in dictatorial or authoritarian regimes, where the law classified certain forms of behavior as deviant, while broad segments of society perceived them in ways that differed substantially from the authorities’ interpretation. The study examines how state security, essentially functioning as political police, constructed a criminal offense through the 1973 proceedings brought against the musician János Bródy. Naturally, interpreting the statements (and other public expressions) he made at a Diósgyőr pop festival as a political crime required a pre-established interpretive framework. This entailed both the legal provisions to create the abstract concept of the offense in question and an official view of popular music and youth subculture as inherently hostile forms of behavior and potential political threats. The study discusses the practices of state security, and Kádár-era prosecutors and courts not so much in the context of repression as in that of surveillance and punishment as a generative exercise of power. Besides the official and administrative forms of law enforcement, the case also provides an opportunity to examine the “popular” understanding of legality and normativity.