Peace? – Fighting, Movements, Loans, Clergy, Propaganda Betekintő issue launch (*2026, no. 3).

“Today there is war, tomorrow peace
but when will this ever end
Today there is peace and tomorrow war
yet the human heart is not sad.”
(Kontroll Csoport, 1983)

The question of war and peace is as old as human civilization itself. From the end of World War II and the beginning of the nuclear age onward, however, it acquired even sharper contours. Military and ideological blocs, states, societies, and individuals all sought to position themselves on the issue after 1945, often in pursuit of political power. What peace means is always a matter of context. Whose peace? Peace between whom? What kind of peace? And does the peace promoted by those in power correspond to the peace advocated by civil society actors?

Drawing on the archival legacy of the Peace Group for Dialogue and relevant sources held by the Historical Archives of the State Security Services (ÁBTL), the third 2026 issue of Betekintő explores how the concept of peace was used in Hungary—and, more broadly, in Europe—between 1945 and 1989; what it meant; what it was set against and by whom; what kinds of manipulation it served; and what deeper social needs found expression through this frequently used and highly politicized concept.

Participants:
Gabriella Unger, archivist (Historical Archives of the State Security Services)
Tamás Csapody, sociologist of law, bioethicist, and historian (Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University)
Zoltán Viszket, historian, archivist, and curator of the exhibition (Historical Archives of the State Security Services)
Milán Pap, political scientist (Tamás Molnár Research Institute, Ludovika University of Public Service)

Moderator:
Péter István Pap, historian and editor-in-chief of Betekintő (Historical Archives of the State Security Services)

Before the discussion, an exhibition tour will be held at 4:30 p.m., led by Zoltán Viszket and Péter István Pap, with a particular focus on the points of connection between the questions raised by this issue of Betekintő and the exhibition. The panel discussion is expected to last approximately one hour.

The event will be held in Hungarian.

The exhibition On Peace Square – The Peace Group for Dialogue is open free of charge through October 25, 2026 at the Blinken OSA Archivum’s Centrális Gallery.

The series is organized in cooperation with the Blinken OSA Archivum, the Historical Archives of the State Security, and CEU’s Department of Political Science.