Misbeliefs about Autonomy

The book aims to eliminate the misbeliefs that surround the question of the constitutionality and the feasibility of the territorial autonomy aspirations of Szeklerland, a predominantly Hungarian-speaking part of south-east Transylvania, Romania. The main hypothesis of the book is that the territorial autonomy of Szeklerland does not contradict the constitutional order of Romania. There are only political obstacles that are being presented as legal ones to avoid a dialogue on regional power-sharing. The doctrinal legal analysis outlined in the book, complemented with the comparative analysis, shows that the false presupposition that territorial autonomy would violate the constitutional system of Romania arises from the misinterpretation of the connection between state and autonomy, and as such can be falsified by the experience of functioning autonomies, the corresponding scientific literature, as well as the recommendations and documents of various international fora.

Attila Dabis is a political scientist and public figure, based in Budapest, Hungary. He earned his PhD degree in 2018 at the International Relations Multidisciplinary Doctoral School of the Corvinus University of Budapest. Since 2012 he has been functioning as the Foreign Affairs Commissioner of the Szekler National Council. Since 2016 he has been the International Coordinator of the Institute for the Protection of Minority Rights. As of 2019 he is co-founder, and editor-in-chief of the of the academic journal, Kisebbségvédelem / Minority Protection.