‘I applaud Hungary’s efforts to pursue peace and to offer its good offices here in Budapest, or at least to serve as a venue for American–Russian dialogue. Beyond that, I think what’s key here is that this war is about the future of Europe’s security order.’
‘Even in 2015, when the PiS government came to power, individuals with communist pedigrees were still numerous within the less visible but essential layers of state administration, the judiciary, the economy, NGOs, and the media. Today these networks are returning…The goal is clear: to maintain control over social and state institutions regardless of electoral outcomes.’
‘An increasingly uncomfortable truth is emerging for Europe: its economic fate now depends largely on the balance of power between the United States and China…One of the big questions for the coming years will therefore be whether Europe, and Hungary within it, will be able to move beyond its role as a passive victim of other countries’ trade wars and instead build its own industrial and climate policies.’
The Hungarian Institute of International Affairs’ first EastSec Forum examined Europe’s shifting security landscape amid the Russo–Ukrainian war. Speakers, including HIIA President Gladden J Pappin and Zachary Paikin of the Quincy Institute, stressed Hungary’s growing mediating role, the collapse of post–Cold War security structures, and the need to rebuild guarantees for lasting peace.
‘Since the masses are easily manipulated, democracy is the natural breeding ground for demagogues, and a straight path leads from it to totalitarianism.’
Hungary’s upcoming war drama Dragons over Kabul uses an unprecedented scale of CGI to recreate the 2021 Kabul evacuation mission. The filmmakers say the production aims to honour the dedication, courage and sacrifice of Hungarian soldiers.
‘Rather than embracing theoretical frameworks like the concept of the EU as a “liberal empire”, what is now needed is a far more pragmatic approach—one that focuses on enhancing economic competitiveness and developing strategies aimed at strengthening the role of the EU in the global economy.’
Once upon a time, there was a coffee house called Belvárosi Café, one of the largest and most prestigious cafés in Pest, which was the first to reopen its doors after the siege of Budapest. Its manager, Egon Rónay, was the scion of a famous hospitality dynasty and the initiator of the English gastronomic revolution.
‘Pokrovsk’s encirclement emerged from these dynamics not as a sudden catastrophe but as the predictable outcome of long-developing trends.’
Under what conditions can the Ukrainian war end? Can there be a military confrontation between the US and China over Taiwan? What could be the future of the Gaza Strip? We asked for an analysis from the renowned scholar of international relations on the three major geopolitical conflict areas: the Ukrainian war, the Middle East, and the Pacific Region conflict.