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Legutko on Democracy's Demon
07/05/2017
Videos Ryszard Legutko, MEP on the "Demon in Democracy”.
On February 23, 2017, we hosted an conference on the topic
Debating Democracy
in which distinguished speakers examined the series of recent developments that together have raised the question, “What is democracy?”.
The speakers included:
Professor Ryszard Legutko, MEP, author of “The Demon in Democracy”;
The Honourable Charles Crawford, former U. K. Ambassador to Poland, author of “Speeches for Leaders”;
Dr. John Fonte, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for American Common Culture at the Hudson
Institute author, “Sovereignty or Submission”;
David Satter, journalist, film maker and author of “The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep”;
Miriam Lexmann, International Republican Institute;
György Schöpflin, MEP, former Jean Monnet professor of politics, University College London;
Professor Norman Stone, academic, historian and author
numerous histories, including, “The Atlantic and Its Enemies”.
These questions included:
• What explains the rise of populism? Is it democratic?
• What is illiberal democracy? How does it differ from majoritarian
democracy?
• What is post-democracy? How does it it differ from liberal
democracy?
• Can global governance be democratic?
• Is liberal democracy really the ‘end of history’?
Policy Experts Debate Causes of 2008 Financial Crisis
Policy Experts Debate Causes of 2008 Financial Crisis
Governments as well as banks were to blame for the crisis which rocked the international financial system in 2008
2013-11-15 13:36:00
2013-11-15 13:36:00
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The causes, cures and consequences of the 2008 financial crisis was the subject of a major international conference in Budapest on Friday 15th November – the first major event staged by the Danube Institute.
Among those attending the conference at the Károlyi-Csekonics Rezidencia were senior advisers to the Hungarian government, diplomats, academics, and business leaders.
Speakers included the former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lamont and the former Italian foreign minister and economist Antonio Martino as well as the American economist Peter Wallison, Counsel to the President in the Reagen Administration and co-chairman of the official US inquiry into the causes of the crisis, and Péter Ákos Bod, a former Governor of the Hungarian Central Bank.
The conference, entitled: The Financial Crisis of 2008: Causes, Consequences, Cures, which received extensive media coverage, focused on the social and cultural impact of the crisis, as well as its economic consequences.
While there was a considerable divergence of opinion on the causes of the crisis there was general agreement that blame for it could not be levelled exclusively at the banks. Governments, such as that of the US which fuelled an unsustainable housing boom through affordable housing polices, also came under fire, as did the ECB for imposing an interest rate regime which produced similar results in several EU member states.
Hungary’s former Central Bank Governor Bod was broadly optimistic about the EU’s economic future and the future of the euro, while Antonio Martino, the former Italian foreign minister and a distinguished monetarist economist argued that the euro was unsustainable in its present form and that the political future of the European Union was deeply uncertain.
Please click here to download the programme of the conference.
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Should Governments Spy on their Friends?
Should Governments Spy on their Friends?
Modern surveillance methods reveal patterns of human behaviour that can frustrate terrorist plots and save lives.
2013-11-06 13:43:00
2013-11-06 13:43:00
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How far governments should go in using modern technology to spy on other states, even upon those which they regard as close Allies, a subject of huge contemporary interest, was the topic of Electronic Eavesdropping and Diplomacy, a lecture by Charles Crawford, a former senior British diplomat at the Danube Institute on Tuesday 5th November. Crawford who was British Ambassador to Poland from 2003-2007 argued that technical advances in surveillance methods enabled governments to establish patterns of human behavior which were a vital tool in combatting international terrorism. It was clear that those governments and politicians which had criticized the US government for spying on the political leaders of friendly states were themselves using such methods. Moreover while counter measures might be devised to frustrate surveillance, it was unlikely that these would be wholly successful, or that governments would cease to use methods that were necessary to protect public safety. /img/1/l1.jpg
Full House for Film on Soviet Nightmare
Full House for Film on Soviet Nightmare
Personal tragedies demonstrate the consequences of the doomed attempt to reshape human nature.
2013-10-25 13:44:00
2013-10-25 13:44:00
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More than 100 guests attended the Puskin Mozi on 24th October for first public showing of Age of Delirium, a documentary film by David Satter which tells the story of the fall of the Soviet Union as lived and experienced by ordinary Soviet people. After the screening the film-maker discussed the film and his experiences as a Moscow news correspondent during the final days of the Soviet Union. The film which won the Van Gogh Grand Jury Prize at the was based on Satter’s book, Age of Delirium: the Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union. /img/1/l1.jpg
No Joking Matter
No Joking Matter
The once popular political jokes simply can’t survive the transition from communism to capitalism.
2013-11-08 13:43:00
2013-11-08 13:43:00
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Did the political joke die with the collapse of communism? According to the British sociologist Christie Davies, an international authority on the roots of humour of all kinds, that is precisely what happened. In a stimulating lecture at which was full of insights into some overlooked aspects of the transition from communism to capitalism jokes are simply not as at home in conditions of freedom and competing ideologies as in authoritarian societies. Professor Davies lecture’s was delivered at ELTE University, Budapest on 7th November. /img/1/l1.jpg 1 4 |
Dinner with the Atlantic Council Past Events
The Danube Institute and Zsolt Németh co-hosted a dinner for the delegation of the Atlantic Council of the United States.
Free Speech, Social Justice and the PC Culture Past Events
What is taking place on certain university campuses in the West? A lecture by Ruth Dudley Edwards on June 8 at the Danube Institute.
Healthcare in Hungary: Are There Any Lessons From Abroad? Events
International conference on the healthcare in Hungary and the lessons from abroad.
Free Market Road Show: The World after Brexit and Trump Past Events
We now live in an era where the unthinkable happens, repeatedly. A conference on our times and the future of free market.
The Middle East, America and Europe in the Trump Era Past Events
On April 13, 2017, the Danube Institute presented Tom Gross, noted Middle East commentator.
Europe vs Elections Past Events
Will the Dutch, French and German Elections Change Europe’s Future?
What is democracy? Past Events
A Danube Institute conference with international speakers debating on democracy.
Political speeches: democracy in the era of fake news Past Events
Former British Ambassador Charles Crawford, CMG on the challenge of political speeches in a new era.
From the democracy's demon to Putin's Russia: a book signing event
Date: 23/02/2017 5:18 p.m.
Location: Bestsellers, Oktober 6. utca 11, 1051 Budapest
The Demon in Democracy (by Professor Ryszard Legutko) and The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep (by David Satter). Book signing event on February 23.
Communism’s Poisoned Legacy Past Events
A conference on the impact of communism on culture, law, and society.
MAPH-1067 Budapest, Eötvös u. 24.Phone: +36 1 269 1041 E-mail:info@danubeinstitute.hu www.danubeinstitute.hu Switch to a larger map Events |
