The 5th Danube Institute Geopolitical Summit is currently taking place in Budapest, Hungary. Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky of Hungary has delivered the keynote address, speaking about such crucial issues of the time as the Russo–Ukrainian war, the Israel–Hamas war, common European defence, and EU enlargement.
An event honouring the life and legacy of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was held at the Danube Institute in Budapest. Institute President John O’Sullivan, who worked closely with Thatcher as a policy advisor and speechwriter, was joined by a number of distinguished guests who shared personal memories and reflections on the enduring impact of the Iron Lady.
‘The question in the title of this panel is based on the very dubious assumption that—until now—we have been living in an era of globalization and that this era is now coming to an end. I consider this a wrong way of thinking, a wrong reasoning, a wrong reading of history.’
‘Globalization is, for me, not a well-defined term…It’s a journalistic word. So I would prefer talking about the differing levels of internationalization of the world economy, which is a legitimate topic. To say that there was an era of globalization and there is a new era of post-globalization is, for me, nonsense.’
The 5th Danube Institute Geopolitical Summit has concluded with a discussion about the economies and geopolitical significance of Turkic states, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Türkiye. Balázs Hendrich, Ian Proud, and Yulduzkhon Imomova have shared their expert opinions on the subject.
Global trade was in focus for the first panel discussion at Day 2 of the Danube Institute’s Geopolitical Summit. Whether or not these times are ‘the end of globalization’ sparked a fierce debate even among the distinguished speakers. The list of speakers featured Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia, Former Prime Minister and President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic, Managing Director for the Janus Forum Darren Spinck, and more.
At the 5th Geopolitical Summit in Budapest, US Chargé d’Affaires Robert Palladino framed Hungary as central to the ‘renewal of Western civilization’, praising its defence of sovereignty and family. He argued that America and Hungary are allies not by convenience but conviction, united against chaos by shared civilizational values.
The rules-based international order is collapsing, warned panellists at Danube Institute’s 5th Geopolitical Summit, as the UN and EU drift into irrelevance or abuse of power. Speakers, including Zoltán Kovács, agreed that sovereignty lies with nations, not supranational bureaucracies, but cautioned that unchecked collapse could bring conflict instead of stability.
Hungary’s armed forces have gained a unique new capability with the arrival of Special Operations Craft–Riverine (SOC-R) boats in Budapest. Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky hailed the vessels as a major step in military modernization.
On the night of 8 August, the Baltic Air Defence Readiness Unit of the Hungarian Defence Forces was called on its their first live Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) scramble, after an unidentified aircraft not willing to engage in radio communications with air traffic control entered the intranational air space over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft was identified as Russian, and was successfully captured by Hungarian fighter jets.