You are here -allRefer - Reference - Country Study & Country Guide - Hungary >

allRefer Reference and Encyclopedia Resource

allRefer    
allRefer
   


-- Country Study & Guide --     

 

Hungary

 
Country Guide
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belize
Bhutan
Bolivia
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Caribbean Islands
Comoros
Cyprus
Czechoslovakia
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
Ethiopia
Finland
Georgia
Germany
Germany (East)
Ghana
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Cote d'Ivoire
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Laos
Lebanon
Libya
Lithuania
Macau
Madagascar
Maldives
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Mongolia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Singapore
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
Soviet Union [USSR]
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syria
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkmenistan
Turkey
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yugoslavia
Zaire

Hungary

National Security

[GIF]

Two soldiers, Esztergom, 1918

THE HUNGARIAN PEOPLE'S ARMY (HPA) of the late 1980s comprised ground and air forces under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense. The ground forces accounted for more than 77 percent of the total strength of the HPA, which in 1989 numbered slightly less than 100,000 troops. The armed forces that constituted the HPA were committed by treaty to the Soviet-East European alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. Another military force, the Border Guard, which patrolled the country's frontiers, was supervised by the Ministry of Interior, as were the National Police and the Security Police. Hungary had no uniformed state security police. The Workers' Guard, a part-time force similar to a national guard was an arm of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. The HPA and the Border Guard obtained manpower through a system of universal male conscription; service in the other organizations was voluntary. A small number of women also served in the armed forces in auxiliary roles but were not subject to conscription.

Political changes in Hungary and the Soviet Union in the late 1980s promised drastic changes in the HPA's relationship to the party and to the Warsaw Pact. Reformers proposed removing the national security forces from tight party control to reduce the likelihood that they would be used for domestic political coercion. The lessening of tensions in Europe had allowed the financially strapped Hungarian government to severely cut its military budget without fearing domestic or international reprisal. Both Soviet and Hungarian officials spoke cautiously of the possibility of a politically and militarily neutral Hungary. In 1989 the Soviet Union had begun withdrawing a small portion of its 65,000 troops stationed in Hungary. Ironically, by the late 1980s many Hungarians viewed this withdrawal with dismay because they had begun to see the Soviet forces in their country as protection against an increasingly militant Romania.

Political liberalization also encouraged changes in the criminal justice system. Regime leaders promised to depoliticize the administration of justice and the police, although as of 1989 the apparatus of repression remained intact. However, harsh measures against dissent and public demonstrations, which had been taken as late as 1986, had stopped by 1989.

Data as of September 1989

Hungary - TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Hungary -

    National Security


  • Hungary -

    Go Up - Top of Page

    Hungary -

    Make allRefer Reference your HomepageAdd allRefer Reference to your FavoritesGo to Top of PagePrint this PageSend this Page to a Friend


    Information Courtesy: The Library of Congress - Country Studies


    Content on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information published on this site. We encourage you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities.

     

     

     
     


    About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy | Links Directory
    Link to allRefer | Add allRefer Search to your site

    ©allRefer
    All Rights reserved. Site best viewed in 800 x 600 resolution.