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.
The Star-Spangled Banner, originally titled ‘Defence of Fort M’Henry’ was written on this day, 14 September, in 1814 by Francis Scott Key during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. It became the official US national anthem in 1931.
With President Trump’s executive order last week, the United States officially has a Department of War again, for the first time since 1947. On that occasion, let’s take a look at the most famous men to serve in the office of Secretary of War before the incumbent Pete Hegseth.
‘The current epoch marks another revolutionary shift: the digital warfare paradigm, driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities, autonomous weapons, and real-time data integration…It is no longer sheer numbers or tonnage of materiel that decide battles, but information superiority, network resilience, and the speed of decision-making.’
Poland’s former president Andrzej Duda says Ukraine attempted to manipulate Warsaw into blaming Russia for the 2022 Przewodów missile strike. Duda argued that Zelenskyy’s insistence was meant to pull Poland into war—a claim that now casts other incidents in a new light.
‘Paradoxically, it appears that democracy can only sustain and protect itself from collapse—whether through tyranny or chaos—by relying on elements that are not themselves democratic. It often seems easier to justify democracy with a quasi-mystical hypothesis than with one grounded in the actual conditions of political reality.’
‘Hungary, too, was forced to be part of the Soviet bloc when Soviet troops entered the country in 1945. Three years later, the future Cardinal and Primate of Hungary, József Mindszenty, opened the Marian Year to entrust, like King St. Stephen, the fate of Hungary to the intercession of the Blessed Mother…’
‘We are very much aware that Hayekian ideas must be articulated and defended in contemporary language—otherwise, they risk being confined to the seminar room or misunderstood as mere nostalgia for the past…The aim is not to create an elitist in-house journal, but to establish a lively forum for debate, analysis, and pointed interventions…’
‘Just days after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared a Zeitenwende—a historic turning point—in the Bundestag, pledging greater support for Ukraine and a significant strengthening of Germany’s armed forces…Yet, despite ambitious plans and ongoing modernization efforts, the proclaimed turning point fell short of delivering the sweeping, immediate changes…’
Trump and Putin’s Alaska summit aims to test the waters for a Ukraine ceasefire, with Russia pressing its advantage after fresh territorial gains. The US holds secondary tariff threats over Moscow, while the EU and Kyiv fight to keep their voice in any deal.