In the presentation we analyze the toponyms of the settlements around the Croatian-Hungarian-Serbian tripartite border, where politico-territorial settings changed several times in the course of the last the century. It is therefore worth examining how territorial changes and the fall of socialist regimes have influenced the symbolic landscape. The analysis was carried out along the lines of the nation-state, regional, local, and socialist categories. _x000D_
Quantitative analysis showed significant differences between the toponymies of the Hungarian and the South-Slavic states. The Hungarian toponymic system is more nation-state centric and lacks national pluralism. In contrast, the settlements of the southern Slavic states have a more ethnically, territorially and ideologically pluralistic name system. However, when complemented by qualitative analysis, it can be seen that certain symbolic policies may be a source of conflict in the region. Although Yugoslavia and Hungary used to have significant territorial conflicts in the region, this is no longer evident in the current symbolic landscape. Instead, the memory-political conflicts surrounding the armed conflicts of the dissolution of Yugoslavia emerge. Another result is that regime change has also taken place in a different way in the region. On the Hungarian side, the disappearance of names associated with the communist regime was more complete, while in Croatia and Serbia they are still present. This suggests that the symbolic landscape of the southern Slavic states and the Hungarian territories under study developed in quite different ways. In contrast to the relatively consistent and homogeneous Hungarian toponymies, the South Slavic territories are rather confused, with the Yugoslav, communist name stock, regional and local identity, and, in the case of symbolic politicisation, a newer ethno-national narrative of confrontation, with few but all the more weight.
György Orsós, Péter Reményi, Dávid Kopunovic
György Orsós: PhD Student, University of Pécs, Hungary; Péter Reményi: Associate professor, University of Pécs, Hungary, Department of Political Geography, Development and Regional Studies; CERS Institute for Regional Studies, Hungary Dávid Kopunovic: BA student, University of Pécs, Hungary, Department of Sociology
ID Abstract: 566