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

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?

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

Viktor Orban is leading Hungary away from the rule of law and human rights — but with popular support. How? Here's everything you need to know.

A Lesson About Class for the Left In response to Trump’s election, restoring class analysis and class politics is the first step towards combating illiberal politics. Apparently, it takes some time until the elite learns that economic frustration is a seedbed for illiberalism. For decades, economic critiques of financial globalisation and socially disembedded economic liberalism were marginal until the 2008 financial crisis turned our views mainstream overnight. Now, the West

The green group Zofi revitalized the environmental movement in Hungary.