At “Hungaria Skins,” a neo-Nazi youth camp in northern Hungary, punk—notably rebellious and anti-establishment in nature, crashing either left or right along the political spectrum—is far from dead. But in the case of this eastern European camp, punk looks just a bit different. The camp, which debuted in the 1980s, reflects a rising hard-core nationalism that defines the Hungarian music scene. Over the course of three days, campers embrace their version of an sXe, or “straight-edge,” lifestyle common to punk subculture: “no alcohol, no cigarettes, no coffee, no electricity, no cooked food.” Similar camps have only grown since the late twentieth century.
Scholar László Kürti probes the connections between national rock and right-wing extremism within post-Soviet Hungary and its “fashionable if questionable facelift.” Put simply, Hungarian (or “Nemzeti”) national rock is that which is “closely connected with radicalized right-wing ideology.” To understand it more as a genre, Kürti identifies three key strands and the artists affiliated with them: national rock, sentimental national/patriotic rock, and national socialist—or “ns”—rock. These forms confusingly overlap, with no clear boundaries between their styles and their instrumentation. Even separating them sonically from more mainstream musical styles (pop, folk, etc.) can be difficult, Kürti admits. Bands from the three groups sometimes perform together, making it even more difficult to tease the strands apart.
Still, hard-core “ns” bands are their own beast.
“Openly embrac[ing] inter-ethnic hostility and racist hatred from inter-war Nazism as well as Hungarism,” Kürti writes, ns-bands are “unabashedly nationalistic in their outlook and ideology.” Ns-band supporters, along with the artists, are also defined by an anti-communism ideology, facilitating a “rejection of rave or techno-pop music by hard core national rockers as it is associated with drugs and globalism.” Outlining the extremism of this schism, Kürti points to Divízió 88 (Division 88), an anonymous neo-Nazi skinhead group founded in 2003 that folds racist, hateful lyrics into its rock and roll. The first hint of the band’s politics can be read in its name: 88 “is a reference to the eighth letter of the German alphabet (H) suggesting the Heil Hitler salute of Nazi Germany.”
Within this larger composition of national “nemzeti” rock and ethnonationalism is Hungary’s youth—playing a particularly important role in shaping right-wing ideology in the country. The internet isn’t helping. In a manner similar to growing extremist sentiment elsewhere in the world, misinformation and news are fertile areas for skinhead strife, along with a space for things like banned “ns” music to exist.
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“As a result of a new right-wing and conservative turn in politics during the socialist-liberal governments’ time (2002–10), neo‑Nazi and Hungarist internet sites and media have multiplied manifold,” Kürti writes. When domains are banned in Hungary due to anti-Jewish and anti-Roma content, the servers are simply moved offshore—specifically, to California.
But even without the internet, plenty of traditional media provide outlets for nationalist rock.
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“[R]ight-wing radio and television stations have mushroomed,” Kürti writes. Ns-band supporters can turn to Holy Crown Radio (Szentkorona Rádió), Lánchíd Radio (Chainbridge Radio), or Hír TV (News TV), among others. Printed newspapers and music magazines such as Heti Válasz (Weekly Answer) and Magyar Hang (Hungarian Voice) also help circulate extremist right-wing views.
With the growing threat of political tensions and ethnonationalist sentiments, these political patterns may soon pose a greater risk. As the days get hotter and we enter into music festival season, too, we may note the ways in which national rock manifests itself not only in the popular Sziget Festival—but its nationalist counterpart, the Magyar Sziget. Again, in Hungary, punk is far from dead, but in many cases, its voice supports nationalism and extreme right-wing politics.
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