The Fourth Danube Institute – The Heritage Foundation Geopolitical Summit - DAY 1

FULL HOUSE

Since the last Danube Institute-Heritage Foundation Geopolitical Summit, the world has seen a number of changes and accelerations. Within democracies, we have seen more people vote in 2024 than in any year in modern history; we have seen the power of corporations continue to increase, with implications for the power of the state; we have seen the erosion of the remaining vestiges of post-cold war unipolarity, and the consolidation of a multipolar model of world power; we have seen increasing tensions between the advocates of the energy realism, and the heralds of energy idealism; and we have seen the competition for hearts and minds and the supposed ‘moral high ground’, in the context of at least two wars that have divided the opinions of nations and families alike. 

In the context of all of this, this year’s Summit brings together leading thinkers, writers, and practitioners to discuss these topics, centered on the unifying theme that they all share: ‘Whose New World Order?’ 

Does the near future belong to the left or right? Does power lie with the state, or corporate interests, and which is preferable? Who sets the rules of the game in a multipolar world? Which energy strategy will best prepare societies for the rainy days ahead? And which narratives of peace and justice will prevail, in the face of escalating conflicts with global implications? The panels will discuss all these topics in the context of the conference theme.

PROGRAMME - DAY I

8.30-9.00
REGISTRATION

9:00-9:05
WELCOME REMARKS

• Prof. Dr. Tamás Dezső, President, Board of Trustees of the Batthyány 
Lajos Foundation
• Dr. James Jay Carafano, Senior Counselor to the President and E. W. 
Richardson Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

9:05-9:35 
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
• Balázs Orbán, Political Director to the Prime Minister

9:35-11:00 - PANEL I
DEMOCRACY 2024: WHOSE DEMOCRACY? WHAT RULES?
As is well-known, in 2024 more people will vote than in any year in modern history. In some countries, from the Netherlands to Argentina, the outcome was not only conservative, but revolutionary. In others, from France to the UK, conservatives faced either shock defeats, or shock margins of defeat. Elsewhere, like India, conservatives have maintained power, while in the US the result has yet to be decided. In the face of these disparate circumstance and outcomes, what if any patterns can be discerned? What are the prospects of the right, and what are the geopolitical implications? The panelists will reflect on the patterns of voting in 2024, and debate their implications for world order.

• Panel Keynote: Honorable Lord David Frost, Member of the House 
of Lords, U.K., former diplomat, civil servant & Tory politician
• Prof. Ryszard Legutko, Former Member of the European Parliament
• Henry Olsen, Senior Fellow, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Host, 
Beyond the Polls Podcast
• John Fund, National Affairs Columnist, National Review magazine; 
Contributor, Fox News
• István Kiss, Executive Director, Danube Institut

Moderator:
Dr. Calum T.M. Nicholson, Director of Research, Danube Institute

11:00-11:15
COFFEE BREAK

11:15-12:45 - PANEL II
CORPORATE POWER & THE STATE: DEBATING PUBLIC-PRIVATE  PARTNERSHIPS
Recent decades have been marked by the proliferation - and conglomeration - of large multinational corporations. Increasingly, corporate actors wield vast influence not only over politics and policy, but in setting the norms of the society that politics and policy serves. Inevitably, the rising power of corporations provokes important questions about state sovereignty, the operation of power, and fundamentally the question of whose interest is being served. The panel will not only address this complex issue, and consider the risks and 
opportunities presented by the increasingly close relationship between corporations and governments, but also what balance of power is likely to dominate the world order in the coming years.

• Panel Keynote: Prof. S. John Tsagronis, Professor of Statecraft and 
National Security Affairs, The Institute of World Politics
• László Jónás, CEO of Design Terminal, Budapest
• Jeffrey Hoffman, Senior Fellow (Cyber), The Gold Institute For 
International Strategy
• Nathan Levine, Visiting Fellow, Danube Institute; Visiting Fellow at the Simon Centre, The Heritage Foundation

Moderator:
Michelle Watson, Former Strategic Risk Advisor, Deloitte; Senior Fellow, Danube Institute

12:45-13:45
LUNCH

13:45-15:15 - PANEL III
MULTIPOLARITY: CONNECTIVITY OR COMPETITION?
As is well known, recent years have seen a decline of the post-cold war ‘unipolar’ model of global power, and the emergence of a multipolar world. In the face of increasing regional tensions — be they expressed culturally, economically, or militarily, what is the best strategy going forward? Ought countries to pursue a strategy of connectivity? Or is a disintegration of the connective tissue between regions — the hallmark of the post-cold war era of globalisation — inevitable? The panel will weigh which understanding of global order ought to triumph, and which has the momentum on its side.

• Panel Keynote: Dr. Swapan Dasgupta, Member of the National 
Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Prof. Damjan Krnjevic Miskovic, Director for Policy Research, 
Institute for Development and Diplomacy at ADA University 
• Prof. Doug Stokes, Professor of International Security and Strategy, 
University of Exeter
• Dr. Gladden Pappin, President, Hungarian Institute of International 
Affairs
• Glen E. Howard, Former President, The Jamestown Foundation

Moderator:
Carlos Roa, Former Exec. Editor, National Interest; Visiting Fellow, 
Danube Institute

15:15-15:30 
COFFEE BREAK

15:30-17:00 - PANEL IV
THE FUTURE OF ENERGY: GREEN DREAMS VERSUS REAL NEEDS?
It is well known that recent events, not least the war in Eastern Europe, has highlighted the delicacy of the world’s energy market. In the context of this, new sources are being sought to offset risk and achieve energy stability and affordability, not least in Europe. In the face of this reality, what is the place and status of energy idealism, and the mantras of sustainability, carbon net-zero, and other associated shibboleths of contemporary governance? The panel will assess whose order will be 
imposed on world energy markets.

• Panel Keynote: Prof. Brigham McCown, Senior Fellow, Hudson 
Institute
• Dr. Sara Vakhshouri, Founder and President of SVB Energy 
International; Professor and Director of Center for Energy Security and 
Diplomacy, IWP
• Dr. Ralph Schoellhammer, Visiting fellow, Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC); Adjunct professor of political science, Webster Vienna Private University 
• Csaba Gondola, Chief Advisor to Hungarian Energy Minister
• Timothy M. Egan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian 
Gas Association

Moderator:
Logan West, Visiting Fellow, Danube Institute

17:00-17:15
COFFEE BREAK

17:15-18:15
CLOSING DISCUSSION: HUNGARY’S PLACE IN THE GLOBAL ORDER
• Honorable Tony Abbott, A. C., Former Prime Minister of Australia
• H. E. Ambassador Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy & 
Energy Security

Moderator:
Dr. James Jay Carafano, Senior Counselor to the President and E. W. Richardson Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

FULL HOUSE

Language: English

Date: 17 September, 2024 
Registration: from 8.30 AM 
Venue: Lónyay-Hatvany Villa- 1. Csónak str., 1015 Budapest
(Entrance: Aranybástya Restaurant)

We reserve the right to change the program.

Participation in the event is free of charge, but requires pre-registration by clicking on the R.S.V.P. button: