Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Shipwreck (1805). Tate Britain, London, UK

Ambivalence in Brussels: The Two Faces of European Migration Policy

Since 2013, migration pressure on Europe has become the new normal, and in recent years the situation has once again worsened: 2023 saw the highest number of illegal immigrants reaching Europe since 2016. Due to the worsening security situation in the Sahel region and the economic difficulties afflicting North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, nearly one million people applied for asylum in the EU.

Carlos Roa: ‘The visit of the Chinese President to Budapest is a geopolitical signal’

Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe—the first in five years—is expected to be mainly business. The Chinese president is coming primarily to conclude new deals in the three countries he visited: France, Serbia, and Hungary. According to Carlos Roa, a guest researcher at the Danube Institute, Western analysts view the visit of the large Chinese delegation with concern for this very reason, as the trip seems more like a geopolitical signal.

Egyptian Copts attend the Christmas mass at the Saint Simon Monastery, also known as the Cave Church, in the Mokattam mountain of Egypt's capital Cairo on January 6, 2023.

The April Attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt Are Both an Extremist Atrocity and a Technological Tragedy

‘Rather than an extremist group exploiting a social media platform to recruit vulnerable people, what took place last week appears to be quite the opposite. Decentralized local communities, far from governmental reach, are utilizing social media platforms to hype themselves up into a state where riotous violence becomes a necessary consequence. The ultimate conclusion to this sad series of events is that Egypt, as a centralized authority, is struggling to monitor these autonomous decentralized social media groups, and therefore these “Islamic vigilantism” incidents may continue to occur.’

Ali Khamenei with Iranian military leaders at a conscription event on 19 September 2008

The Historical Construct of Iran’s Theocracy

Shi’ism, as a branch of Islam, evolved through a Gnostic approach to God (i.e., having an intimate knowledge and spirituality with Allah and acknowledging a hierarchy of angels). Shi’ites, who are seen as heretical by Sunnis, believe that we have free will, are responsible for our own actions, and are called to conduct ourselves according to the design of Allah’s justice, which is revealed through a series of signs, the most important being prophecy and the guidance of the imams.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on 12 November 2018

Two Critical Visits to Open New Stage of Hungarian⁠–⁠UAE relations

The recent signing of a military and defence industry cooperation agreement between Hungary and the United Arab Emirates introduces a new dimension to their bilateral relations. Hungary’s status as a NATO member, combined with the UAE’s robust partnership with the alliance, suggests that this agreement may lead to a more pronounced role for Hungary in security collaborations between NATO and the Gulf region.