‘It is fair to say that, since its independence, Lebanon has rarely experienced a decade without facing either internal or external conflict. This reality helps explain why Lebanon’s economy has persistently struggled and why it is one of the few countries in the world where the size of the diaspora exceeds that of the domestic population, at an estimated ratio of three to one.’
‘For more than three decades after the Cold War, deterrence in Europe was largely taken for granted…Security debates focused less on territorial defence and more on crisis management, expeditionary missions, and stabilization operations far from Europe’s borders. That strategic comfort has now decisively ended.’
‘This is no longer a world of unilateral dictates, but a multipolar system of alliances defined by agreements, intensive trade, and technological competition. A US–Russian alliance is central to this, symbolized by the meeting of Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska—a place that was once Russian territory, is now a US state, and may become the symbolic cornerstone of a historic strategic partnership.’
Hungarian Conservative and POLITICO have obtained an 18-page document shared with the attendees of the EU Summit in Brussels, which propses $800 billion to be raised in public and private grants, debt, and investment to fund the recovery of Ukraine after the war in the next ten years. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary has forcefully spoken out against the plan.
In the changing global order, the need to build a stronger alliance between Israel and Central European countries and to combat antisemitism were the key points of the latest conference at the Danube Institute.
What did the United States achieve in the Afghan war? Why do China and Russia maintain a strategic partnership with Pakistan? And is there a rational solution to the Jammu and Kashmir territorial dispute? We spoke with the former Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan following his lecture at Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest on Pakistan’s geopolitical significance.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his Davos speech to lash out at Viktor Orbán, the EU, and even Donald Trump, accusing Europe of weakness and calling out ‘every “Viktor”’ he claims lives off EU money while ‘selling out’ European interests. Orbán hit back by calling Zelenskyy ‘a man in a desperate position’, insisting Hungary will not support Ukraine’s war effort while continuing humanitarian aid.
A Századvég survey finds most EU citizens oppose deeper involvement in Ukraine: 51 per cent reject arms shipments, while 69 per cent oppose sending troops. Despite calls from leaders like Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber for accelerated support, public opinion across most member states—including Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovenia—remains firmly against military action.
The four-day Greenland crisis ended in Davos after Donald Trump ruled out using military force to seize the island, which remains under Danish sovereignty. Instead, he signalled plans to expand the US role in the Arctic through a NATO agreement. The standoff reflects Trump’s familiar negotiating style—but what really happened?
Hungary has joined Donald Trump’s newly unveiled Board of Peace as a founding member in Davos, with Viktor Orbán warning that war brings inflation, sanctions, high energy prices, and economic decline. Balázs Orbán hailed the platform as ‘one of the first institution of the new world order,’ while European powers such as France and the United Kingdom refused to join the new conflict resolution forum.