Category: Central/Eastern Europe

West needs ‘strategic confidence’ to confront revisionist powers

     

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, in his last public remarks as national security adviser, strongly denounced Russia for its increased aggression around the world and declared: “We have failed to impose… Read more »

Hungary decaying into ‘Führer democracy’

     

This Sunday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is set to win another term in national elections, giving him a fresh mandate to advance his project of building what he calls… Read more »

Kremlin tests hybrid warfare in Ukraine & Syria. But how effective is Russian propaganda?

     

The Kremlin is using Ukraine and the Syrian war to test hybrid warfare techniques such as the co-ordination of fake news with bombs and bullets, two former generals with expertise in unconventional… Read more »

Ukraine is ‘at the forefront’ of broader struggle for liberal democracy

     

Ukraine’s victory over authoritarianism matters for Europe, says Stanford University’s Francis Fukuyama. The country “is really at the forefront of a broad struggle for liberal democracy with various populists and… Read more »

West vs. Russia: sharp-power struggle in Balkans – region least resilient to fake news

     

The West is fighting back against Russia in a battle for influence in the Balkans. The latest charge is being led by Britain. Seven years after shutting down in Belgrade,… Read more »

‘Undemocratic dilemma’ in populist challenge to liberal democracy

     

Slovakia has become the latest country in Eastern Europe to face a major political crisis. But while regional neighbors such as Poland and Hungary have been clashing with the EU… Read more »

Hungary slipping from ‘semi-authoritarian order to fully authoritarian’?

     

In Budapest 1, a parliamentary district at the heart of the Hungarian capital, most voters will not support the party of Viktor Orban, the country’s far-right prime minister, in a… Read more »

Ukraine’s citizens optimistic, but concerned over corruption

     

Ukraine’s citizens are showing more economic optimism, but remain concerned over corruption, according to a nationwide poll by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research: Twenty-three… Read more »

Authoritarian International: Will human rights survive illiberal democracy?

     

The European Union’s response to Russia’s sham election suggests that it has decided it’s time to cuddle up to dictators, the Carnegie Endowment’s Judy Dempsey observes in the Washington Post…. Read more »