Two months into the war on Iran, the skeptics have been vindicated, and Europe’s center is slowly rediscovering the international law it abandoned in February. Liberal globalism has collapsed; violent, lawless illiberalism epitomized by Trumpism fills the void. The European center, with Merz as its figurehead, was meant to be the counterweight. Instead, when the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, German chancellor Merz refused to “lecture” allies, declared internationa

Péter Magyar will be sworn in as Hungary’s new prime minister this week. His government has a strong technocratic thrust — a departure from Viktor Orbán’s cronyism but hardly a revitalization of democratic participation. https://jacobin.com/2026/05/hungary-magyar-democracy-orbanism-technocrat

Europe's response to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran exposes a continent locked in dependency and struggling to find its voice. Liberal globalism has collapsed, and the vacuum is being filled by an increasingly violent, lawless illiberalism that trades principle for hierarchy and force. The centre right — and its European figurehead, Friedrich Merz — is often framed as the main counterweight to illiberal disruption. Yet when the United States and Israel launched strikes on I

Hungary’s Viktor Orban left Washington with a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy, a short-term political win that exposes his long-term dependence on foreign power. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his very large team of ministers, propagandists and members of the country’s well-connected economic elite flew to Washington on November 7 to meet President Donald Trump, the first bilateral meeting of the two leaders since his return to power. The t

Taking Stock of Shock results from a massive interdisciplinary endeavor, a timely and crucial contribution to the debate on postsocialism.

In this contribution to ISRF Bulletin 24, I inquire into the nature of the specific form of national-populist neoliberalism that has emerged in Hungary under Viktor Orbán's leadership. Populism and neoliberalism are among the most fiercely debated topics in the social sciences—however, the two concepts have produced two disjoined discourses. The conventional approach to populism followed by most economists and political scientists has characterized it as a threat to the neoli

Few concepts have been declared dead and buried more often than neoliberalism. However, it continues to survive. Neoliberal Resilience, Aldo Madariaga’s award-winning book, shows how. Few concepts have been declared dead and buried more often than neoliberalism. However, it continues to survive. Neoliberal Resilience, Aldo Madariaga’s award-winning book, shows how. The strange non-death of neoliberalism Joe Biden’s presidency has begun with a historically unprecedented stimul

My (slightly provocative) essay for SASE on how (not) to research illiberalism: The culture/economy dichotomy is artificial & unproductive.

How does the collusion of international finance & domestic oligarchy lead to illiberalism?

The number of excess deaths could have been ca. 7.3 million in Eastern Europe in 1991-99. What explains the postsocialist mortality crisis?

This essay examines the multidisciplinary debate around what has recently been referred to as an epidemic of ‘deaths of despair.’ Surviving and dying are life chances in the most profound sense. As Amartya Sen famously argued, our chances of survival are also a robust indicator of economic success and failure (Sen 1998). Today, the declining life expectancy in deindustrialized, rustbelt areas and the accompanying deepening of health inequalities in the U.S. signal the existen

Globalist neoliberalism, with its focus on human rights and multilateralism, is on the decline. However, its alternative is not a post-WW2-type social democratic arrangement. Instead, a new, national-populist neoliberalism — neo-illiberalism — is on the rise. Neoliberalism is bifurcating. The rise of national-populists such as Bolsonaro, Trump, or ‘Brexit-Boris’ befits this new wave of national-populist neoliberalism. The recent pandemic-induced fatigue with populism and reve

Behind the veneer of economic nationalism, Hungary is one of the breeding grounds of a new incarnation of neoliberalism.

Three pitfalls from a Hungarian perspective that could hinder beating Trumpism after Trump vacates the White House. The official start of the transition to the Biden Administration signals the end of the battle against Donald Trump. However, Trump’s legacy will not end when he finally vacates the White House. Just as crucial as defeating Trump will be defeating Trumpism. To do that, Democrats will need to avoid three pitfalls. I have lived through the consequences of these mi

Orbán is right to worry about EU funds becoming conditional on the rule of law. It threatens his whole socio-economic model The EU and Viktor Orbán’s government have clashed on several occasions over democracy and the rule of law. Orbán is aware that his wiggle room would significantly shrink if the EU made the payment of funds conditional on compliance with the rule of law. This is why Orbán — together with his Polish allies — vetoed the EU budget and the recovery fund (wort

It's an absolute honor that the Mayor of Budapest, Karácsony Gergely joined my book forum to discuss the state of democracy in Hungary. Gergely is the co-chair of the party we co-founded back in the day after Gergo left teaching political science. Though our ways parted, it was great to reunite and discuss Hungarian politics. I am grateful for the event organized by Janna Brancolini and the Foreign Press Association Milan | Associazione Stampa Estera Milano - check out their

How can we interpret the characteristic steps of the Hungarian government to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic?

Death rates were strong predictors of the Trump Brexit votes. Rising working-class mortality signals both economic and democratic failure.

The government’s responses to Covid-19 correspond to the logic of Orbanomics: capitalism for the poor, socialism for the rich.

The health of people and the health of democracy are intertwined.

What do Italy and Hungary reveal about the political-economic background of the coronavirus crisis? My article in the Italian weekly Left.

The false Western sense of superiority endangers people.

What are the deeper challenges facing contemporary left-wing class politics in Hungary?

Authoritarian leaders find it hard to tolerate independent voices, and academic freedom is no different. After Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán announced the year of the ‘culture war’, the government effectively banished Central European University from Budapest. The prestigious research institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are next in line. The pretext is the need for boosting innovation. However, the truth is that governmental policies under Hungary’s autho