Cooperation and Confrontation: Navigating Tensions in the Indo-Pacific

The Danube Institute organized a prominent conference addressing the geopolitical tensions and opportunities for collaboration in the increasingly significant Indo-Pacific region. During the event experts from nations with interests in the region examined its future prospects through two panel discussions.

By Giuliano Bugiardini - Bridgeman Art Library: Object 827682, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31407241

‘The Pope of Chaos’: The Reign and Legacy of Clement VII

‘For Hungary, Clement’s tenure offered little tangible support during one of its darkest eras, while his broader legacy includes the catastrophic Sack of Rome, the expansion of Protestantism, and the Anglican schism. Today, he is remembered not as a leader who rose to the challenges of his time, but as a figure whose reign epitomized the turbulence and contradictions of the Renaissance papacy.’

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rings the bell during a College meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on 30 October 2024.

What Can We Expect from the New Commission?

‘The President made a powerful comment on Ukraine: “Ukraine is fighting for our freedom every day—and we must work for its freedom too.” In light of this, she resolved that our top priority will continue to be “rallying partners to support with short-term needs and long-term reconstruction efforts”.’

Jan Saenredam, Plato's Allegory of the Cave (1604). The British Museum, London, England

The Third Budapest School

‘The Third Budapest School strives to debate the one-sided, analytical, progressive, nihilistic aspirations that dominate American intellectual life, and to cultivate initiatives based on classical European philosophy. It does this by stimulating the formulation of important questions: in contrast to the activist Leninist “What is to be done?”, the Third Budapest School holds that the preeminent question is: “What is to be asked?” This means that the most important measure of all intellectual activity is reality. ’

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán at the Eurasia Forum in Budapest on 21 November 2024

PM Orbán: ‘We are the living idea of Eurasia’

‘Europe must break out of this echo chamber, find its place in its relationship with Asia, and recognize that it is part of the Eurasian region. It must leverage all the advantages this position offers, because without doing so, we cannot compete with other global power centres,’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned at the Eurasia Forum in Budapest.

Balázs Orbán: ‘The age of sovereignty is coming’

‘Sovereign conservatism has a moral duty to prioritize what is best for your own people. If you are not strong enough to defend your position, you are not sovereign,’ Balázs Orbán stated. The political director to the Hungarian prime minister made this remark while participating in a conference hosted by the Danube Institute focusing on the foreign policy implications of a second Donald Trump presidency.

Kerkay Emesével, Passaic, NJ

Photo-Documenting Markers of the Hungarian Diaspora — A Conversation with Gergely Tóth

An in-depth interview with German teacher Gergely Tóth, who went to the University of Berkeley, California 26 years ago for a doctoral program, then soon became immersed in local Hungarian community life. Since then, his voluntary work has extended from making oral history interviews to photographing objects and markers on four continents and collecting archival material of the Hungarian diaspora.

A dynamic demonstration of the Leopard 2A4 tank during the visit of Hungarian Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Slovak Minister of Defense Robert Kalinák to the barracks of the György Klapka 1st Armoured Brigade György in Tata on 9 February 2024.

Centralization or Collapse? Draghi’s Controversial Plan to Save the EU — Part III

European countries purchase significant amounts of American weapon systems and military equipment, making US companies the main beneficiaries of the increased defence budgets within NATO. This situation creates tensions and a fragmented will within the EU in processes aimed at strengthening the independence and competitiveness of the European defence industry. It also raises the question of whether Washington’s primary goal is the collective defence of the allies or the profit maximization of American arms manufacturers.