Creativity continues to be a central component of politics, but it is less frequently manifested in the novel application of experience than in the methodical implementation of a procedural rule in practice.
Our direct and indirect sanctions on Russian energy, food and fertiliser exports have severely backfired. By importing the effects of the war into Europe all the eurocrats have achieved is that we must now face the most perilous winter since 1945.
Objectively speaking, hundreds of unauthorized executions took place in the country, the victims of which were either ex-functionaries of the communist system or innocent Jewish traders and citizens.
The Ukrainians mixed the technique received from the West with an ancient Eastern battle tactic, in a way never seen in Europe before—taking advantage of the mistakes of the careless Russian leadership. Bálint Somkuti’s analysis of the Ukrainian counterattack.
A Hungarian model does exist, and is worth presenting to other conservative communities out there as an example to learn from.
These Central European brothers find themselves amid the type of calamity inevitable in all bilateral relationships. Yet, history, geography, politics, and economics all ensure they will continue to raise glasses together, as they have for centuries.
While the United Kingdom mourns the Queen’s death, some rejoice that an ‘oppressor’ and ‘symbol of colonialism’ has died. Against all vile accusations, it is crucial to remember that the Queen’s legacy is an overwhelmingly positive one.
Conservatism is a philosophy, a frame of mind, an attitude built on a practical belief that people can and should govern themselves.
The politicization of medical science in the context of the COVID crisis is another building block in the construction of a socialist system that will enable even more effective surveillance and repression due to digitalization, in the form of a ‘cybernetic socialism’.
This war should never have led the EU, and France in particular, to side with one of the belligerents.
While joint US-Korean military drills were scaled down in the last couple of years, now they have returned in their past size as tens of thousands of soldiers train for a potential invasion of South Korea until 1 September. The drills are a show of force not only to Pyongyang, but to Beijing, too.
‘The problem is the Western European argument attached to these sanctions, namely: the greater the pressure exerted by the sanctions, the quicker peace will come. This mindset was wrong from the start because sanctions–as we saw earlier in the case of Iran– can only have an impact in the long run.’
The Russian invasion of Ukraine forced most NATO members to reckon with the poor shape of their military and left them searching for quick fixes. Countless procurement programmes have been signed for new weaponry, but we’re still short of manpower. Compulsory service, perhaps even for women, may prove to be the only answer.
In order for both sides to live in harmony with each other, the Palestinians must first, as with other Islamic countries, acknowledge that Israel is an independent and sovereign country, regardless of how it got there.
The report explicitly referred to Baltazár as an ‘enemy.’ The investigators were quite obviously not interested in identifying the real culprits.
The North Atlantic Treaty forms the legal basis of NATO, but what exactly is the scope of the alliance’s authority?
Japan lost a great patriot, and the world a great conservative leader in Abe Shinzo.
The need to return to national interest, realism, restraint, balance of power, and Westphalian non-intervention is perhaps the most tragic and urgent lesson that must be learned from this war.
Although the Visegrád Four may be facing one of the most severe disruptions of its history, it is too early to discount it as a “collateral victim of the war,” as the cooperation’s main virtue has always been its ability to overcome momentary political disputes.
While the parties are making contradictory statements about a possible nuclear emergency, expert analyses suggest that the risks posed by nuclear weapons in the context of the Russian offensive should be taken seriously.
‘President Macron will surely do whatever he can to hold as much influence and power within the European Union as he can, that more often than not will mean efforts to look for compromise with partners, and to defend French interests.’
The Swedish and the Finnish people should be given the opportunity to have a say in as to whether their countries should join a US-led military alliance and give up centuries of neutrality.
The war is now two months old, and notwithstanding continual efforts by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting, such collective security efforts have achieved very little if nothing at all.
According to Joch, there is a kind of clash of civilizations behind the clash of worldviews in Europe. Today the most controversial issues are the redefinition of marriage, legal and illegal immigration, and the military arming of Europe. Basically, a sharp cultural division can be perceived in this matter between Western and Eastern Europe.
To sum up, there are the so-called ideological ‘leftists’ who are in power in much of Europe, including Berlin and Paris, and there are the pragmatic ‘rightists who are in power in the Visegrád Group countries, especially in Budapest and Warsaw, but, for the time being, they are in opposition to most of Europe.
Carl von Clausewitz advised that “According to our idea of a people’s war, it should, like a kind of nebulous vapoury essence, never condense
into a solid body; […]. Still, however, on the other hand, it is necessary that this mist should collect at some points into denser masses, and form threatening clouds from which now and again a formidable flash of lightning may burst forth.
Mass immigration is, indeed, a danger for all societies, and though it seems an unavoidable symptom of late civilizations, patriotic politicians should seek to reduce it as much as possible.
‘There is robust political debate in Hungary, but it is not dominated by hatred of one’s own nation and a sort of romantic, progressive Marxism and wokeism to the degree it is in the cultural and political establishments of America.’
Conservative forces in Europe and outside the continent need to work together because the values we hold dear are under global attack. These are the values that underpin
the greatness and prosperity of our civilization.
What is certain is that there is no shortage of creative ideas on how to support Ukraine. What is surprising, however, is how forcibly and spectacularly the Slovak Republic, which was extremely close to the Russian Federation in the nineties, is trying to oppose this great nuclear power.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.