The Mamluks of Egypt defeated the Armenians, 1266: Illumination from Le Livre des Merveilles, 15th century.

Pax Mongolica — The Freedom of Christian Conversion

Mongol rule brought not only immense destruction and suffering to the peoples of the conquered territories but also peace, known in modern research as ‘pax Mongolica’. The period of the Mongol Empire (1206–1368) is unique in world history.

The Mission of the Hungarian EU Presidency: Finding Real Answers to Real Problems

‘The Hungarian presidency is focusing on finding real answers to real problems,’ Hungarian State Secretary for International Communication and Relations Zoltán Kovács stressed during a panel discussion on Thursday evening in Budapest. The event centred on the Hungarian EU presidency, with fellow panellist Enikő Győri, MEP for Patriots for Europe, adding that despite constant political attacks, the professional work of the Hungarian presidency has been widely praised in the corridors of Brussels.

Future of Schengen Is at Clear Risk Due to Illegal Migration

This week, Germany, the European Union’s largest economy and one of the founding members of the Schengen area, decided to reintroduce border controls along its entire land border in response to growing pressure caused by illegal migration. Increasingly, more member states are following suit for similar reasons, raising the risk that internal border controls will become standard practice, ultimately threatening the existence of one of the EU’s greatest achievements: the Schengen area.

Los Angeles Lakers Sign Hungarian Basketball Player

Dominican Hungarian guard-forward Vincent Valerio-Bodon spent the last season with the Los Angeles Lakers’ reserve team South Bay Lakers, but now has the chance to make his debut in the NBA with the 17-time champions. He would be the second Hungarian basketball player to play in the NBA.

Romania in the Schengen Area ‘Hungary’s National Interest,’ Foreign Minister Szijjártó Says

While Romania did partially join the Schengen Area in March 2024, eliminating border checks for sea and air travel with other nations within the zone, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary would like to see the check-free travel extended to land transportation as well. He believes that it would facilitate trade between Hungary and Romania; and would make it easier for ethnic Hungarians living in Romania to visit their motherland.

Caspar David Friedrich, The Abbey in the Oakwood (1809–1810). Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany

Crisis? What Crisis?

‘Just as liberalism did not succeed in transforming people after socialism, neither did the competing anti-liberal, post-Christian, nihilistic trends. The solution is certainly not political or movement-based: those had already failed by the middle of the twentieth century.’

Chinese President Xi Jinping (CL) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (CR) stand in front of the Carmelita Monastery in Budapest prior to their official talks on 9 May 2024.

Why Is Hungary Turning to China? A Cultural Theory

‘It seems to me that Orbán sees his people as having a greater chance of surviving the disintegration of the West by forming ties to China. He might be proven wrong by history. But make no mistake: the dilemma facing Viktor Orbán is a lot like that facing Grand Prince Géza: How to strengthen the position of the small Hungarian nation amid the struggle of powerful states and empires? Géza’s geopolitical decision to baptism his son as a Latin Christian set the course of Hungarian history for a millennium. The stakes may well be as high for Orbán today.’

Filippino Lippi, Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas over the Heretics (1489–1491). Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy

Opportunities for Christian Realism Today

‘Christian realism is not unprincipled power politics or mere pragmatism, but the intelligent use of power and politics for the sake of representing Christian ideas and the common good (bonum commune), within the bounds of worldly political constraints.’