A József Attila Kör és a hatalom, 1983–1986

Absztrakt

Based on an overview and interpretation of the activities of the Attila József Circle between 1983 and 1986, the study provides insight into the cultural life and opposition movement in the late Kádár Era. Since the membership of this circle was at the intersection of various opposition groups and the establishment itself, their study reveals the political and cultural aims and intentions of the individuals involved. Placed in the wider context of the history and sociology of intellectual life, the study also aptly illustrates how the authorities were able to disintegrate, manipulate and monitor groups of dissent. Further, Pap also inves¬tigates if there was any movement between critical opposition groups and to what extent this movement was hampered either by the establishment or by the differences between the advocacy strategies that these groups subscribed to. Pap’s findings nuance the cultural history of the late Kádár Era as well as the (cultural) public in the age of political transformation and the period after 1990.