Századok – 2010

TANULMÁNYOK - Szőke Zoltán: Magyarország és a vietnami háború, 1962-1975

MAGYARORSZÁG ÉS A VIETNAMI HÁBORÚ, 1962-1975 97 Hungarian government, which tried to normalize Hungaro-American relationship, was ready to assume this task, and even wanted to convince the American leaders that negotiation with the Vietnamese was not entirely hopless. Although these efforts have not been made the subject of any singular work, Hungarian and American historians did examine various aspects of the role of Hungarian foreign policy in the Vietnam conflict. Yet this is the first study to deal with the real ambitions of the Hungarian party leadership in Vietnam, as well as the details of the connection between the individual interests of Hungary and the Soviet-Chinese conflict, the personal fears of Kádár because of the hesitation of Moscow, and his anger at the insincerity of Washington and the perfidy of Bejing. The author of the present study is also the first to offer, in the wake of the sporadic attempts mentioned above, a comprehensive and chronological overview of the subject, based on his own research in the archives of Budapest, Washington and Ottawa.