The Third Danube Geopolitical Summit - DAY 1

Danube Institute and The Heritage Foundation U.S.A. will once again provide an international gathering of experts over two days to discuss the current geopolitical forces on which the world’s attention is focused. 

Day-1:

Program Master of Ceremonies, David Oldroyd-Bolt

9:15-9:35 WELCOME REMARKS:

• John O’Sullivan, President of Danube Institute
• Dr. James Carafano, Senior Counselor to the President and E.W. Richardson Fellow, International Engagement, The Heritage Foundation, U.S.A.
• Zsolt Németh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly

9:35-9:50 KEYNOTE ADDRESS – YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

• Lewis Libby, Distinguished Scholar at the Hudson Institute, U.S.A. From eastern Ukraine to the South China Sea and first island chain, from new pathogens to hypersonic weapons, from mired economies to vulnerable dependencies, worrisome prospects confront free world states that not so long ago preferred to think grave threats remote. These challenges to the heralded rules-based order did not arise overnight, yet in dangerous ways, the democracies have failed to keep pace, even as fractures have grown among and within them. What does the path to today suggest about facing the geo[1]political prospects ahead?

9:50-11:45 – PANEL ONE: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF EUROPE & ASIA AFTER THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR?
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent aftershocks across Europe, from mass refugee movement to energy shortages and inflation. What will it take to end the war, and what will the continent and its future look like afterwards? Tied to this conflict are new questions concerning NATO. Traditionally an Atlantic alliance, both AUKUS and the recent participation of Japan in the Vilnius NATO summit hint at the possibility of an ‘Asian NATO’. What are the potential benefits and risks of ‘Atlanticism’ in the Pacific?

• THE WAR IN UKRAINE: NO GOOD OUTCOME IN SIGHT
  Attila Demkó, Head of the Centre for Geopolitics, Mathias Corvinus Collegium-MCC, Hungary
  
  
• THE POLISH PERSPECTIVE – ON RUSSIA, UKRAINE, CENTRAL EUROPE AND NATO
  Marek Matraszek, Chairman, CEC Group, author and commentator, U.K. & Poland
  
  
• JAPAN-NATO COOPERATION – THE ITPP BETWEEN NATO AND JAPAN FOR 2023-2026
  Professor Hideshi Tokuchi, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) since June 2021. Visiting professor at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo. Served as the nation’s first-ever Vice-Minister of Defense for International Affairs, Japan
  
  
• U.S. STRATEGY MUST BE ON FIGHTING AN ECONOMIC CONFLICT, NOT A MILITARY CONFLICT
  Michael Anton, Senior Fellow, Claremont, Lecturer in Politics and Research Fellow at Hillsdale College Kirby Center, former Deputy Assistant to the President of the U.S., former managing director, Black Rock, U.S.A.
  
  
• WHY TAIWAN MATTERS TOO
  The Honorable Tony Abbott, A. C., former Prime Minister of Australia, AU
  
  
• Dr. David Dusenbury – Moderator, Senior Fellow, Danube Institute; Visiting Professor, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest; author and commentator, U.S.A.
  
  

11:45-13:15 – PANEL TWO: GEOECONOMICS
In 2022, the global inflation rate stood at 8.75%, the highest annual increase in over 25 years. Shutdowns from COVID and the subsequent realization that Western reliance on China for key components held inherent risks, similar risks revealed by the war in Ukraine and Western reliance on Russia for gas, and a rise in mechanical and digital automation through artificial intelligence have all contributed to the tumultuous economics of the present day. Can stability be restored? And if so, what will it take to do it?

• THE CONVERSATION
  President Klaus, Economist, former president and Prime Minister Czech Republic, and John O'Sullivan, president of the Danube Institute, former special advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former executive editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, engage in a conversation on the current geoeconomics climate.
  
  
• ECONOMIC SECURITY AND DE-DOLLARIZATION
  Dr. Neven Vidakovic, Chief Executive Officer at Loti Trading LLC, Adjunct Fellow Danube Institute, Croatia
  
  
• INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN RELIABILITY, ON-SHORING VERSUS OFF-SHORING
  Catherine McBride – Moderator and contributor, Economist, UK Trade and Agriculture Commission, U.K.
  
  

14:15-15:45 – PANEL THREE: GEO-ENERGY
With most of Europe decoupling itself from Russian energy sources, price inflation has affected the entire continent’s population, and the fear of fuel shortages and rationing is an ongoing concern. What new sources and technology are needed for Europe to secure its energy future?

• THE VIEW FROM CANADA: THE GLOBAL RISK OF A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
  Timothy M. Egan, President & CEO, Canadian Gas Association; Chair, NGIF Capital Corporation, Canada
  
  
• ENERGY SECURITY IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD
  Brigham McCown, Senior Fellow and Director, Initiative on American Energy Security at Hudson Institute, Visiting Professor, Miami University, and former U.S. Energy Regulator, U.S.A.
  
  
• GEOPOLITICS OF ENERGY IN THE SILK ROAD REGION & ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR EUROPE
  Damjan Krnjević Mišković, Professor of Practice at ADA University (Azerbaijan); Director for Policy Research at the Institute for Development and Diplomacy; former senior adviser to the President of the UN General Assembly, the President of Serbia, and the Foreign Minister of Serbia, Azerbaijan
  
  
• NIGERIA AND THE GEOPOLITICS OF ENERGY
  Ayo Otuyalo, Energy executive, Managing Director Prime Atlantic Ltd, Nigeria
  
  
• Dr. David Martin Jones – Moderator, Director of Research, Danube Institute, Visiting Professor and teaching fellow in War Studies at King’s College, University of London and Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Buckingham., U. K
  
  

15:45-17:00 – PANEL FOUR: THE NEW/OLD COLD WAR
The conflict in Ukraine has stirred ghosts and old fears from the days of the Cold War, with many questioning if this clash is the start of a new iteration of the standoff between Russia and the U.S. along with Europe, with the new wrinkle of a dramatically surging China as a major influence in global affairs, a direct competitor to the U. S., and a growing partner with Russia. What comparisons can be drawn between the days of the Soviet Union with today’s world? And what does any such comparison mean for the policy approach America and Europe should adopt?

• THE CIVILIZATIONAL TURN IN RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY
  Dr. Maria Engström, Professor of Russian at Uppsala University, Sweden
  
  
• ONLY AMERICA CAN DEFEND A RULES-BASED WORLD
  Mr. David Satter, Russian specialist & commentator, author & producer, U.S.A.
  
  
• THE ’OLD BUSINESS’ OF NUCLEAR ARMS
  Dr. George Bogden, J.D., PhD, Olin Fellow at Columbia University and a Senior Visiting Researcher at Bard College; 2023 Blankley Fellow & Krauthammer Fellow
  
  
• THE COLLECTIVE, BRUTAL REALITIES OF HARD POWER
  John Venable, Senior Research Fellow, Defense Policy, The Heritage Foundation, U.S.A
  
  
• Prof. Jeffrey Kaplan – Moderator, Distinguished Fellow, Danube Institute, author or editor of 25 books, U.S.A.

Language: English

Date: 21 September, 2023 
Registration: from 8.30 AM 
Venue: Lónyay-Hatvany Villa- 1. Csónak str., 1015 Budapest

We reserve the right to change the program.

Registration is closed!