Borvendég Zsuzsanna: Fabulous Spy Games. How international trade networks with the West developed after 1945 - A Magyarságkutató Intézet Kiadványai 24. (Budapest, 2021)
FINAL THOUGHTS – TRAPPED IN THE NETWORKS
FINAL THOUGHTS - TRAPPED IN THE NETWORKS FINAL THOUGHTS - TRAPPED IN THE NETWORKS The secret service games explained in this book shed light on the hitherto unknown side of Hungary’s role in the Cold War. These episodes, each a crime story in itself, are linked together, forming a chain, and while offering the reader the experience of discovery and a sense of wonder, they still present the annoying uncertainty of an unsolved mystery. The stories and networks of nexuses strongly suggest that we need to reconsider Hungary’s post- 1945 history and role in world politics from a number of perspectives. The correlations presented in the book prompt us to draw a plethora of possible conclusions, the thorough investigation and interpretation of which will, I think, be unavoidable in the future. In the meantime, we need to raise new questions and seek new answers, possibly using new methods. The message of the book is not meaningful without the networks’ role in shaping and affecting history. Interpreting past events by examining networks is a novel approach for historians, but one that is gaining currency due to its well-founded scientific basis, which fortunately makes anyone who emphasises the importance of using this approach less of a conspiracy theorist.505 Research by Albert-László Barabási on networks modelled the significance of scale-independent networks (graphs) not just theoretically, but also in the sense that these preferential systems of connections are also typical of social networks, which means this method is highly suitable for describing human relationships. Barabási has supported and proved this using historical examples.506 Scottish historian Niall 505 Network research also has traditions in Hungarian historical literature, a methodology analysis has even been published on the topic: Kovács 2012 506 Barabási 2013 183
