Further evidence is emerging of direct collaboration between members of the Hungarian government and the Kremlin regime. I spoke to the Polish centre-left weekly news magazine ont he chances for regime-change in Hungary. https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/2337781,1,orbn-przelicytowal-i-szuka-ratunku-kolejne-rewelacje-o-zwiazkach-rzadu-wegier-i-moskwy.read

This study for the FOUNDATION FOR EUROPEAN PROGRESSIVE STUDIES maps the international infrastructure scaling Orbán’s counter-hegemonic project. The roots of this counterhegemonic project go back to the exhaustion of liberal globalism, which created fertile ground for far-right challengers. Instead of progressive correction, the far right seized the initiative, treating the crisis of globalization as an opening for a long-term counter-hegemonic project. Viktor Orbán’s 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.

Speaking with Cyril Vanier about the economic consequences of the Iran war for Europe and the world, including how Europe's voluntary subservience to Trump plays directly into Putin's hands.

With rising Middle East tensions after U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran, Europe is reconsidering its security strategy. We already see the deployment of France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle near Cyprus and the broader European role in protecting Gulf energy infrastructure. The interview explores Europe’s strategic autonomy, energy security, and the challenges posed by reliance on the United States. Experts also highlight internal EU politics and the hurdles to achieving co

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

Excited to see our new paper out in Comparative Political Studies. In this study, we extend the research on anti-immigrant attitudes by analyzing an overlooked factor: health. We develop a framework explaining why residents perceive competition for health services with immigrants. Using data from eleven rounds of the European Social Survey, covering 222,989 respondents in 30 European countries (2002–2023), we find a consistent association between poor health and anti-immigrat

Following his appearance at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Slovakia and Hungary – two countries often described as political outliers within the European Union. Is the U.S. official’s visit an attempt to gain a foothold in the political rivalry between Washington and Brussels – or is whittling down Russian energy influence a more important goal?

Thrilled to see our new paper out now in European Journal of Sociology Abstract Social reproduction scholars have made headway in integrating the analysis of capitalism, class, gender, and care. We offer two contributions to this literature. First, we provide a novel framework with insights into companies as sites of decommodification, shaping childcare cost distribution and affecting childbearing rates. Second, we extend social reproduction research geographically to the oft

Orbánism, like so much radical right-wing populism, is a political reaction to the crisis of liberal globalism. My interview with France’s leading independent investigative outlet. (In French) https://blogs.mediapart.fr/edition/chroniques-deurope-centrale/article/030226/gabor-scheiring-orban-compris-le-pouvoir-du-nationalisme-comme-cadre

Comparative political economy took several years to catch up with the profound transformation of party politics that has occurred in advanced industrial nations over the past few decades. Until about a decade ago, traditional political economy models examining the relationship between (electoral) politics and socio-economic policies—particularly welfare and redistribution—operated under the assumption of a classic left-right divide. In this framework, workers would vote for t

A series examining higher education under the Trump administration raises the question: why Orbán and Trump have targeted higher education. The Boston-based online newspaper talks to various experts and those professors, who have personally experienced these attacks. https://www.masslive.com/news/2025/12/sand-in-the-gears-what-mass-can-learn-from-the-higher-ed-crackdown-inspiring-trump.html?gift=39bb7cab-fbc4-4534-b94f-bdbf53af7867

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

"Scholars need to prepare students with emotional skills and not only with technical skills to survive the job market" Interactive workshop on the theme: „Centering the human experience”

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

Christopher Saville’s paper makes a valuable contribution to the growing field connecting the political economy of capitalism to population health.1 Using extensive, high-quality survey data, Saville shows that the health consequences of deindustrialisation in Wales have persisted across generations. Residents of areas with deeper mining histories report poorer health, with the strongest effects among those who lived through mine closures. Although the gap has narrowed for yo

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

The rise of authoritarian populism in East-Central Europe is often explained as a political reaction to economic neoliberalism. This chapter undertakes a more nuanced perspective, emphasizing economic growth models and underlying social coalitions. The Growth Model perspective is an alternative analytical lens to the Variety of Capitalisms perspective in comparative political economy. In the 1990s, a set of macro-economic reforms introduced via democratic political means, est

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

Illiberal leaders rise, fall, and sometimes crash. Yet, the illiberal movement itself continues to gain ground. The current moment again feels like the pendulum is swinging back to the center. But beneath the surface, a deeper crisis continues to erode democratic politics. Unless we reinvent democracy, the illiberal wave will keep coming back. My article for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation blog: https://kettering.org/why-democracy-keeps-losing-to-illiberalism-and-how-to-f

How the Orbán regime destroyed the institutional self-defence mechanisms of the working class, including the deliberate fragmentation of trade unions, in some cases their partial co-optation, and an overall repression of labour rights and workers’ ability to organise. https://www.equaltimes.org/trade-unions-in-the-long-shadow-of?lang=en

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched strong criticisms of the European Union at a rally in France on Monday. The event aimed to showcase the unity and strength of the anti-immigration faction within European politics. Le Pen described the EU as a "graveyard of politically unfulfilled promises" and labelled it "woke and ultra-liberal." “We want to finish the game and win, to take power in France and in Europe, and give it bac

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