Betekintő is the quarterly journal of the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security, published four times a year. The journal publishes studies, source editions and reviews, as well as reports on events organised by the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security. The launch of the journal in 2007 was made possible and necessary by the expansion and enrichment of the scientific activities of the institution. Initially, Betekintő was published online, from the autumn of 2020, however, it has also been available in print. The title of the journal expresses its “ars poetica”: it aims to afford a glimpse into the state security files and the workings of the political police before 1990.

The last decade has seen a welcome increase in the number of studies, source editions and monographs regarding the history of political police. It has thus become clear that the past of state security services can only be understood in the context of the domestic and international relations of the period. Accordingly, in line with the expansion of the scientific discourse on contemporary history, the scope of the journal has recently broadened. Therefore, publications on 20th century Hungarian and universal history in a broader sense can also be found in Betekintő.

Former responsible editor: György Gyarmati (2007-2017)
Former editors-in-chief: Tibor Takács (2007–2008), Rolf Müller (2009–2010), Zsolt Krahulcsán (2011–2017), István Papp (2018–2021), Nándor Pócs (2021–2022)
Former members of editor's staff: Gergő Bendegúz Cseh (2007–2017), Rolf Müller (2007–2012), Katalin S. Varga (2007–2008), Tibor Takács (2007–2011), István Papp (2013–2018), Éva Petrás (2017–2019), Péter Kis (2020), Zsolt Krahulcsán (2017–2020), Nándor Pócs (2018–2020), Tünde Kondor (2021), András Szécsényi (2022), Klára Katona (2021-2023), Lukács Krajcsír (2024-2025)