The limits of freedom: parliamentary obstruction in Hungary during the dualist era, 1867–1918

In Hungary, the rise of obstruction at the turn of the twentieth century was driven by several interconnected factors. The central conflict of the Dualist era – the divide between supporters and opponents of the 1867 Compromise – allowed obstruction to be portrayed as a form of constitutional and national resistance. The expansion of the mass press further increased the political visibility and effectiveness of opposition actions. Moreover, the growing professionalisation of parliamentary politics enabled legally trained politicians to exploit procedural rules with increasing sophistication. Although obstruction was largely eliminated through the 1913 revision of the rules of procedure, these reforms addressed only its institutional manifestations rather than the deeper political conflicts that had generated it.