What has a special English gentleman learned about local mentality and people in Hungary? What was his intention in staying here and founding the Danube Institute? We spoke to the president and founder of the institute about the similarities and differences between the views of Hungarian and British conservatives and about the role conservatism can play in this evolving new world order.

Is Hungary like the West in its old days? In what respect was Hungarian conservatism interesting to American and British conservatives? We spoke to the Director of Research at the Danube Institute about the similarities between British and Hungarian mentalities and the future of British and Hungarian conservatism.

What is the significance of the 250-year-old Declaration of Independence? Was the American Revolution justified? We spoke to the executive director of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at The Ohio State University about whether the Declaration of Independence—the ‘birth certificate’ of the United States—was legally and lawfully adopted under the British laws of the time.

In recent years, British and American legal scholars have met several times to debate whether the Declaration of Independence—the ‘birth certificate’ of the United States—was legally and lawfully adopted under the constitutional principles of its time.

Is French secularism (laïcité) a ‘sword’ or a ‘shield’? Is atheism the new state religion of France? We spoke to a French lawyer and academic, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Danube Institute, about the origins, significance, and paradoxes of the French constitutional principle of secularism, as well as the historical struggle between the church and the state in France.

Which African region is the most troubled by water scarcity? How does this phenomenon redraw the demographic map of Africa? We spoke to a water management expert at the Department of Water and Environmental Policy at the University of Public Service, Budapest, about African water shortages and their economic, political, and demographic impacts, as well as the Hungarian drought situation.

How to dismantle illiberal systems? We asked a former Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Polish ambassador to Israel and the United States about Donald Tusk’s ‘militant democracy’, the similarities and parallels between the Polish and Hungarian government changes, and how Poles view the EU’s common values and common policies.

‘It’s absolute cinema,’ the prime minister said of what is happening to him. And indeed, like a movie, the government is unfolding before our eyes: we are part of it, it is happening to us and for us. Or rather, that is what the grand spectacle now playing out in Hungary after the Polish ‘regime change’ would have us believe.

What is the significance of being a Habsburg, and what burdens does it entail? We spoke with a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and former Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See about the turbulent history and legacy of the Habsburgs, the former ruling family of Austria–Hungary, as well as the EU, the institution of the family, and Christianity.

How did Hungarians view the United States in the 1980s? What were the US-related policies of the Orbán governments? Will the new Hungarian government be as significant to the United States as the Orbán government was? We asked a former Hungarian foreign minister about the past, present, and future of Hungarian–American relations, including their ups and downs and their often turbulent nature.