Staff
John O’Sullivan
President
John is an editor, columnist and senior fellow at the National Review Institute in Washington. His earlier posts include editor of the National Review, associate editor of the London Times, senior fellow of the Hudson Institute, and special adviser to Margaret Thatcher.
István Kiss
Executive Director
István is a political scientist and an international relations expert. He has earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Pázmány Péter Catholic University and at the University of Edinburgh. Currently he is working on his PhD at his alma mater. From 2013 to 2018 he worked at the Századvég Foundation first as a Research Fellow then as a Senior Research Fellow. Formerly, he worked as a Political Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary.
Melissa O’Sullivan
Deputy Director/Programs
Melissa is involved with program development and execution, working with incoming guest speakers and supporting all staff in a mission oriented fashion. She also represents the Institute through her involvement with the International Women’s Club and other organisations. A former professional in the field of security working with the federal government, she is a graduate of the University of Alabama and is a commentator on the political scene on both sides of the Atlantic.
Michael O'Sullivan
Director of Cultural Affairs
Michael writes on the history and culture of Hungary in the inter-war period. Patrick Leigh Fermor: Noble Encounters Between Budapest and Transylvania and Trianon Tragedy of a Nation: The Memoirs of Tibor Scitovszky (Ed) are his latest publications. He is currently writing a biography of Miklós Bánffy and is also working on a comparative history Hungary and Ireland: Two Nations Two Treaties. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin; his many publications include best-selling biographies of international figures including Mary Robinson. He has been a frequent contributor to various media including The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph and the BBC. He was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary for services to Hungarian History.
Mark Higgie
Senior Fellow
Mark was Australia’s Ambassador to the EU and NATO between 2014 and 2017, previously serving as international advisor to Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He was Australia’s representative to the British Joint Intelligence Committee between 2006 and 2009 and Ambassador to Hungary between 1998 and 2001. He is also Europe Correspondent for The Spectator Australia.
Anton Bendarzsevszkij
Director of research
Anton is a foreign policy analyst, and journalist. He studied Media & Communications and History at the University of Pécs, also reading Political Science at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. He was head of the Post-Soviet Department for 7 years at Kitekintő. Subsequently, Anton was director of the geopolitical foundation of the Hungarian National Bank and its research institute. He is a regular columnist at Magyar Nemzet. Anton specializes in the security policy of Post-Soviet states.
Nóra Kobza-Kunfalvi
Head of Communications
Nóra earned her BA and MA degrees in Communication and Media from Corvinus University. Nóra had years of experience working in television, and at daily and weekly newspapers. She is currently responsible for Marketing Communication at the Danube Institute.
András Karácsony
Research Group Leader of the National Sovereignty research group
András is a Candidate of Sciences, and a Professor at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University. He is member of the editorial board of Kommentár and In Medias Res. András’s research interests are social theory, and philosophy of law. He is the author of several books and research articles.
Soma Hegedős
Senior Research Fellow
Soma is a columnist and a lawyer specializing in Public law. He is a researcher at the University of Public Service (Budapest).
András Jancsó
Research Fellow
András is a PhD student at the University of Pécs. His research topic centres on Joseph Ratzinger’s political thought. He is a external lecturer at Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church. He is a member of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee. He is the president of the Association for Hungarian PhD and DLA Candidates of Philosophy.
Ádám Darabos
Research Fellow
Ádám is a political scientist, and a doctoral student of Corvinus University. Earlier, a member of the Bibó István College for Advanced Studies and a research assistant at the Institute for Political Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His research field is Christian political thought - with a specialization in Reinhold Niebuhr’s Christian Realism.
Enikő Bagoly
Research Fellow
Enikő earned a Master’s degree in Slavonic studies, specializing in Polish and Russian culture. She is currently studying International Security and Defence Policy at the National University of Public Service in Budapest. She speaks Polish at an intermediate level, and is fluent in Russian. Her research interests include the Visegrad countries and the Post-Soviet states.
Péter Szitás
Research Fellow
Péter was a professor at J. Selye University in Komárno (SK) and the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (SK). Previously, Péter studied linguistics in Slovakia, acquiring a PhD in literature. Péter holds an MA in International Security and Defense Policy from the National University of Public Service. He had obtained his BA in International Studies from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. His main research fields are geopolitics and terrorism.
Dávid Nagy
Research Fellow
Dávid studied International Security and Defence Policy at the National University of Public Service and at the University of Haifa. His main research fields include terrorism and radicalism in the Middle East.
Tamás Orbán
Research Fellow
Tamás studied History and International Relations at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. He commenced his career working as an intern for various research institutes in Budapest. He works as a researcher, columnist and geopolitical analyst at the Danube Institute.
Lídia Papp
Analyst
Lídia is an international relations expert. She earned her Master’s degree from Corvinus University. She also studied at the University of Haifa. She had been an intern at the Hungarian Ministry of Defence. Her primary research interests are the Middle East, humanitarian assistance, and the protection of religious freedom.
Zsófia Tóth-Bíró
Analyst
Zsófia is a third year law student at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. She is the deputy editor in chief, as well as a columnist at Reaktor. Zsófia’s years of experience in debating greatly assists her work at the Institute.
Dorina Blanka Dósa
Personal Assistant to the Director
Dorina is a graduate MA student in Theology. She supports the work of the Executive Director and the Director of Research. She has previous experience in events management, personal assistance, and interior design.
Rebeka Illés
Communications Assistant
Rebeka holds a Bachelor’s degree in Slavistics from Eötvös Loránd University. She speaks multiple languages and is now studying Events Management. Formerly, she had worked in tourism and commerce.
