Category: Orban

European Solidarity and Purpose in the Face of the Russian Threat

June 10, 2025

If there is a truth to be learned from the history of global conflict, it must be that appeasement rarely brings a lasting peace when it is seen to result preferentially in concessions to the aggressor. Revanchist grievances arise and fester for generations and wounds are not forgiven. Even worse, the aggressor remains unsated when the original goal was not achieved. This was the lesson of the last world war and the one that most seem intent on forgetting, particularly those foolishly convinced of somehow being isolated from harm or those simply wanting to get on with the business of making money under more controlled circumstances. The failure to face the hard reality of ending a war by stopping an overt aggression in its tracks invites a future of recidivism acted out by the same aggressor or simply another of the same ilk. … More European Solidarity and Purpose in the Face of the Russian Threat

Canada and Ukraine’s Defense Against Russian Aggression – A Shared Hatred of Authoritarianism

May 2, 2025

Canadians hate being told they shouldn’t be a country especially by an increasingly authoritarian-leaning American regime much like Ukrainians hate the idea of being told the same by a Russian dictator who actually invaded their country. Both the U.S. and Canada are awakening to the grotesque political reality that an illiberal government has come to power in “the shining city upon a hill” as Ronald Reagan once pictured Washington DC. … More Canada and Ukraine’s Defense Against Russian Aggression – A Shared Hatred of Authoritarianism

The Shrinking State of Putin’s World

December 14, 2024

The foregoing sentiment, ostensibly of biblical origin, fits well with recent events in Syria and the toppling of its tyrannical and generational Assad regime. The collapse occurred over what seemed only a matter of days for a regime dating back to 1971 when Hafez al-Assad gained the presidency of Syria in a coup, passing it on to his son Bashar in 2000. The latter continued Syria’s decades-long ties with Iran and its regional militant proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, and went on to institute a reign of terror of outright killings and incarcerations, bringing on the condemnation of the West. It would all come to an end in a catastrophic dismantling of the regime and the abandonment of its leader. Thus far, it highlights Vladimir Putin’s questionable place in global opinion. … More The Shrinking State of Putin’s World

Populism’s Path toward Authoritarianism: The Weirdness of the West

July 15, 2024

Before we become too enamored with the notion that the Russian state and its governance represents the sort of model for us to emulate and the kind of partnership we must seek in a world increasingly in need of security against the global threats of war, economic collapse, climate change and disease, a timely review of the example set by Russia is in order. Russia’s fate has been so intertwined with the sole aspirations of its resident dictator that it now faces the prospect of not simply military defeat in a poorly conceived attempt to overtake a neighboring sovereign nation but the ignominy of ultimate economic collapse. Rather than avoiding such “foibles” of authoritarian rule, some European and other western nations have been engaged in the idea of following suit with their own versions of populist ideals. Ahead of most other nations in its wild pursuit toward similar autocracy is Viktor Orban’s Hungary, well along in its decline into authoritarian rule, and therefore equally suited for similar scrutiny. … More Populism’s Path toward Authoritarianism: The Weirdness of the West

Putin’s Odds (Part 4) – The Trees and the Forest

March 11, 2024

History is meant to work as an educational tool for those generations to follow. It is meant to provide direction for establishing priorities that will guide the deliberations of leaders. Blunders of the past have often resulted from national grievances that have been propagandized to a feverish level by authoritarian regimes with self-serving agendas. When war has been the result, the outcome has often led to catastrophic defeat for the aggressor and a protracted national shame but not without the inevitability of widespread grief shared by the many nations forced to confront the aggressor. … More Putin’s Odds (Part 4) – The Trees and the Forest

Orbán and Populism in Europe

January 5, 2024

Just across the border from Estonia on Russian territory stands a very visible sign with a simple statement, “Russia knows no borders,” a characteristically Russian self-indulgent bravado meant to intimidate a smaller nation that has stood firmly with Ukraine in its current war with Russia; a war by which Russia has made clear that it has no regard for the borders of sovereign nations. It stands as warning to any nation in its proximity – the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia. … More Orbán and Populism in Europe