Category: Current

It would be a mistake to believe that in May 2012, after two terms as president, Vladimir Putin was able to pick up where he left off four years ago – formally bowing to a constitutional provision. Both Putin and Russia itself have changed a great deal since 1 January

The outcome of the 6 May elections can be said to have brought about a partial political change in Serbia. Serbia has a new President – Tomislav Nikolić  –but will also most likely see a government in which the Democratic Party (still headed by outgoing Boris Tadić) will be replaced

Ferenc Hörcher in Conversation with Nick Thorpe The blog Mos Maiorum (http://mosmaiorum.blog.hu/) has emerged as a quiet, considered, critical supporter of the Fidesz government, edited from a centre-right perspective. It was founded by Professor of Political Philosophy Ferenc Hörcher (b. 1964) and staff, students and ex-students at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University

Drava National Park, June 2012 Batina, Baranja county, North-Eastern Croatia The Danube, it seems, has always been in the wars. The war monument on the hill here overlooking the river commemorates the death of 2,000 mostly Ukrainian soldiers and Yugoslav partisans, trying to cross the Danube in small boats under

Experts on terrorism have recently begun speaking of a phenomenon they term “self Islam”. This refers to the fact that many dangerous extremists act not out of loyalty to a religious or a radical political movement, but rather justify their actions by picking and choosing among the elements of various

Since Christmas several reports and opinions have appeared in the international media painting a bleak picture of the state of democracy in Hungary, heaping heavy criticism on the government. The objects of the concern and the attacks are the new Constitution passed by the National Assembly in 2011, the media law of

The House of Terror at Ten – Director Mária Schmidt in conversation with Nick Thorpe NT: Let’s start at the very beginning. You opened ten years ago, amidst great controversy: about the establishment of your museum, about its name, about the rather dramatic outward appearance, and about the combination in one

Catch-up Strategies in the Far East South Korea: Miracle on the Han River As a result of its almost unparalleled economic growth, today South Korea is one of the leading players in the global marketplace and one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Republic of South Korea is

Restoring Oxbows in Austria and Germany Up to the middle of the 19th century, the Danube was a free-flowing wild river in most parts. Maps, pictures and travel reports from that time show a varied river landscape with narrow gorges and wide basins. The Danube consisted, apart from the largest

On 7 February, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke before the European Parliament in Strasbourg – at his own request – to explain his government’s policies and face MEPs’ questions. This followed a previous appearance in January 2011, during which he came under sustained attack. This time, he and his