Research and projects

Elite Research Center 

Head: Várnagy, Réka 

Some groups of the elite have played and continue to play a decisive role in shaping politics, so their systematic analysis is a task of Political Science and one of the less explored areas of Political Science in Hungary. The Centre for Elite Research (EKK) is dedicated to the analysis of the different groups of political elites. 

The EKK focuses on the groups of MPs, government actors, party leaders and women politicians. It carries out basic research on Hungary but it is a representative of each while taking an international embeddedness- and comparative approach into account. 

The Centre also prioritises the integration of young, pre-PhD researchers into the domestic academic scene and the provision of Placement for BA and MA level students with specialised interests. The Centre’s staff are active in several international research networks and regularly publish in Hungarian and foreign scientific journals. 

Research:  

Várnagy, Réka: In a new role? Voters, Representatives, Parties (Research supported by the NRDI Fund) 

As an integral continuation of the work of the Centre for Elite Research, our latest research is also about representation. We ask what the concept of representation means, what MPs think about their representative role, who and how they represent and how this affects their decision-making. This research links our theoretical knowledge with the practical world of politics: we ask actors not only about their perception of their role but also how this guides their everyday political activity. 

To better understand the meaning of representation, our research takes an innovative approach based on voter engagement. Our hypothesis is that representation is a two-way street where it is not enough just to represent people but the represented are also present. To get to know the other side, we intend to conduct a representative population survey asking participants how they perceive the role of their representative and what their expectations are from their representative? 

Of course, MPs are not independent political actors in their own right as their attitudes and behaviour are largely determined by their political parties. Therefore, our proposed research goes beyond the traditional MP-representative concept and situates the party and assesses its role in the representation process. 

Project ID: NKFI K-128833 

Research period:2018-2021 

Head of Research: Várnagy, Réka 

Participating researchers: Ilonszki, Gabriella; Bocskor, Ákos; Ványi, Éva; Vajda, Adrienn; 

Researchers:  

Várnagy, Réka 

Ványi, Éva 

Metz, Rudolf Tamás 

Gyulai, Attila 

Novák, Anna  (PhD student) 

Beck, Dániel (PhD student) 

Elite Research Website : https://www.uni-corvinus.hu/fooldal/kutatas/intezeti-kutatokozpontok/politikai-elitkutatas-kozpont/ 

The Cor-vi-nus Philosophy Workshop, established in 2021, aims to provide a framework for both high quality philosophical research and education. 

From the point of view of philosophical research, the workshop provides a forum for its members to discuss their current research problems and results and to brainstorm philosophically. In this context, it is primarily intended to be a forum for the discussion of the recent work and philosophical ideas of workshop members. The result of this activity will be a convergence of thematic and argumentative perspectives that may open up prospects for joint research in the long term. 

From the point of view of philosophical education, the members of the workshop actively seek to involve students, partly with a view to developing their general philosophical intelligence and partly with a view to producing results, such as for example, high quality TDK papers. 

Events: 

– 15 December 2021 (lecture). Kiss Olga: „Polányi, Schön és a gyakorlati tudás episztemológiája” 

– 3 December 2021 (conference). Vallás és pandémia (With Magyar Vallástudományi Társaság  https://docs.google.com/document/d/170jZLFk8v6gQay2s36IeyIWiJTft4QMe/edit ). 

– 26 November 2021 (conference):  Symposium of the Hungarian Philosophical Encyclopaedia. A Magyar Filozófiai Enciklopédia szimpóziuma https://magyarfilozofiaienciklopedia.hu/hirek/   

– 27 October 2021 (lecture). Hoppál Bulcsú: „Pauler Ákos szellemtörténeti kategóriái” 

– 24 September 2021 (conference): Molnár Tamás és az angolszász konzervativizmus https://www.scribd.com/document/527997827/Molna-r-konferencia-plaka-t-2021-09-24 

– 26 May 2021 (lecture). Demeter, Tamás: „Sympathies for Common Ends: The Principles of Organization in Hume’s Psychology and Political Economy” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351658514_Sympathies_for_Common_Ends_The_Principles_of_Organization_in_Hume’s_Psychology_and_Political_Economy 

– 12 May 2021 (lecture): Toronyai, Gábor: „A halál fenomenológiai megközelítése Husserlt követve” https://filozofiaiszemle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Toronyai-G%C3%A1bor-A-hal%C3%A1l-fenomenol%C3%B3giai-megk%C3%B6zel%C3%ADt%C3%A9se-%E2%80%93-Husserlt-k%C3%B6vetve.pdf  

Researchers: 

Demeter, Tamás 

Hoppál, Bulcsú Kál 

Mezei, Balázs Mihály 

Kiss, Olga 

Toronyai, Gábor 

Lánczi, András