From Ideology to Nostalgia

The Hungarian literary tradition teems with a myriad of works that can contribute significantly to our political knowledge. Politics and literature as an interdisciplinary focus pays little attention to the works of Hungarian authors. Based on this perception, From Ideology to Nostalgia: Excursions with Arthur Koestler and Sandor Marai intends to show that specific novels written by Hungarian authors have significant value from the perspective of political theory. Miklos Balint Toth examines works which provide a thorough understanding of problems related to the notion of political order. In three case studies, Toth analyzes Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon, Sandor Marai's Itelet Canudosban (Judgement in Canudos), and another novel by Marai's Szindbad hazamegy (Szindbad Goes Home), focusing on political phenomena such as ideological thought, the dynamics between order and rebellion, and nostalgia.