I talk about my up coming book comparing the post-socialist population crisis in Eastern Europe and the deaths of despair epidemic in the US, and how they fuel populism through worse health and social disintegration.

Hungarian voters delivered a decisive electoral upset to strongman Viktor Orbán, who spent 16 years consolidating power, capturing institutions, and portraying himself as the global template for illiberal democracy. Opposition leader Péter Magyar won a landslide victory, with turnout exceeding 77 percent. The new government now holds a two-thirds parliamentary supermajority. In this episode of The Stakes, CFK Global Fellows Gábor Scheiring and Kristóf Szombati, both veterans

Our Hungary election mini-series continues in the wake of a seismic result: Péter Magyar's Tisza party swept Fidesz from power with a two-thirds supermajority, endi#86C6E5ng sixteen years of Viktor Orbán's rule. In this episode, Kristóf is joined by his former party co-founder and political economy scholar Gábor Scheiring to make sense of what happened — and the treacherous transition ahead. Together, we trace how Orbán's political settlement unraveled under the weight of a s

Hungary’s morning after... Analyzing the regime-change in Hungary -after the euphoria settles. Twenty-Four Two’s special 15-episode series on Hungary. “A competitive authoritarian regime is a competitive authoritarian regime,” Scheiring tells us. “As long as you have elections, it’s possible to beat the ruling party, but it’s just hard, right? It’s much harder than in a free and fair democracy with free and fair elections”. Orbán conceded quickly because his defeat was undeni

For the first time in 16 years, long-standing European leader Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat to his former acolyte Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party.

Hungary's historic election is being hailed as a win for democracy and a possible shift away from far-right leadership across the region. After 16 years in power, Viktor Orban was voted out, following a record turnout. His successor, Peter Magyar, has outlined his agenda overnight; raising questions about what this leadership change means for Europe. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/what-does-hungary-s-election-mean-for-europe-/106573916

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat after his opponent Péter Magyar's landslide victory. Far-right authoritarian leader Orbán had been in power for 16 years and made a number of major changes to the country's constitution to weaken the judiciary. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/04/13/viktor-orban-loss-hungary

Global oil shortage, gas shortage, fertilizer shortage, aluminum shortage, global aviation collapse. The only way out of this is a world crisis of war. I spoke with the host, economist Zoltán Pogátsa.

In a recent study I examined why Orbán's economic model can no longer be continued. I discuss this with Zoltán Pogátsa.

Since 2010, Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party have consolidated power, dismantled checks and balances, and taken control of universities, civil society, and the media. Pro-Orban groups now control 80 percent of the country’s media, according to Reporters Without Borders. On Friday, Donald Trump met with Orban, a close ally, at the White House. What can we learn from Hungarians about resisting authoritarianism and what's to come? Click on image:

Is it true that Hungary will play a key role in Trump's policy? How is the Middle East energy situation related to Hungary and the Russian-Ukrainian war? https://www.klubradio.hu/archivum/eurozona-2025-szeptember-26-pentek-1300-52388

If the second term of the Donald Trump administration has shown anything so far, it’s that democratic institutions and norms aren’t self-evident. They can be reshaped, undermined, and even destroyed if a government is determined to do so. https://open.spotify.com/episode/41bkW454H0K5fw6YMkvit7?si=08508668996a41cc&utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree&nd=1&dlsi=63e81bc1e3a74aa6

Universities in the US face the possibility of federal funding cuts if they don’t comply with White House demands to walk back initiatives the Trump administration deems biased. Internationally, the use of federal funding to force change in higher education settings is nothing new. The Trump administration might be learning from Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán. https://theworld.org/stories/2025/05/28/how-hungarys-higher-education-overhaul-became-a-model-for-us-conservatives

What interventions Americans need to take right now to avoid the authoritarian backsliding that has dismantled democracy in Hungary since Prime Minister Viktor Orbán came to power in 2010. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7D7HNtcfO0bk1GFqlKWFVS

Donald Trump has a lot of similarities—and something of a bromance—with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. And those who wish to resist Trump’s Orbán-like, right-wing strongman tendencies could learn something from the resistance in Hungary.

I was happy to discuss the role of economic shocks, symbolic class war, the unraveling of liberalism, and physical & mental suffering as drivers of #populism in the US and Hungary with Al Scott on his podcast, The Rational View.

I talked with Reimagining Post-Socialist Georgia Podcast about how th post-socialist mortality crisis emerged, its political implications for today, and what types of methodologies are most effective for researching these topics and more in post-socialist countries.

Éber Márk Áronnal beszélgettem a Partizán podcastjában arról, hogy miért fontos megismerni azt a társadalmi koalíciót, amely a Fidesz hegemóniájának a támasza.

Invited lecture and panel discussion with Chriss Hann at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

Presentation at the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) Annual Meeting

Book panel at the Thirty Years of Capitalist Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe Conference. Chair: Don Kalb (University of Bergen). Panelists: Attila Antal, Gabor Scheiring, Kristof Szombati, Mary Taylor

Presentation at the British Sociological Association's 70th Annual Conference (online)

I discussed my book (The retreat of liberal democracy, Palgrave, 2020) with Tim Jones from the New Books Network.

Video features a discussion of the Sociology special issue 'Nationalism's Futures', published Volume 54 Issue 6, December 2020