Transnational Advocacy for Vojvodina: Hungarian–American Lobbying amid the Breakup of Yugoslavia

Type of Abstract (select): Individual Presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The disintegration of Yugoslavia and the armed conflicts of the 1990s created profound uncertainty for the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina, Serbia's multiethnic northern province. Amid fears of ethnic cleansing similar to those unfolding in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, members and organizations of the Hungarian diaspora in the United States-most notably the Hungarian American Coalition and the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation-mobilized to internationalize the Vojvodina issue.

The paper traces the history, strategies, and impact of these actors' advocacy in Washington, D.C., and their transnational cooperation in Budapest and Belgrade. Drawing on policy documents, organizational memoranda, and media reports, it examines how Hungarian-American activists framed the situation of Vojvodina and especially its Hungarian community through the lens of human rights, democracy, and self-determination-core values within American foreign-policy discourse at the time.

Through lobbying efforts and awareness-raising calls, these actors sought to reframe Vojvodina's minority question from a domestic Yugoslav/Serbian matter into an international concern tied to regional stability. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates how diaspora communities can leverage normative ideals and strategic networks to shape international perceptions and contribute to minority rights agendas in post-conflict regions.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Ferenc Németh is a PhD Candidate at the Corvinus University of Budapest. He was a Visiting International Graduate Student at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy in Toronto and conducted research at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. Ferenc was a Research Fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and worked at EULEX Kosovo. He was a Denton Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis and participated in the Transatlantic Security Initiative of the International Republican Institute. In 2026, Ferenc will be a Fulbright Visiting Student Researcher at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.