In the last episode of 2019, we look at the state of play in the judiciary in Hungary and what the most recent amendments mean for rule of law and the independence of the court system. To make sense of it all, we are joined by Dávid Vig, the director of Amnesty International Hungary and Ágnes Kovács, a lecturer at ELTE’s Department of Human Rights …

This episode is a forward-looking one, which builds on our previous discussion about the economic legacy of the transition. We discuss a new report from Visegrad Insight titled “European Futures,” the current state of EU budget negotiations when it comes to Central Europe, and the impact of regional politics on the economy. Guests: Daniel Gros, dir…

In this episode we talk to Dóra Győrffy, a professor at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Hungary, about the economic legacy of the transition. We take stock of the frontrunners and those who did things by the book implementing neoliberal reforms, but we also touch on the failures, and the apparent decoupling of political and economic succes…

This episode is the first segment of a two-part series with Talk Eastern Europe (TEE) on the results of the European Parliament elections in Central Europe. We talk to Edit Zgut, a visiting lecturer at the Center for Europe in the University of Warsaw and discuss the V4 and what is next for the opposition in Hungary and Poland. Stay tuned for part …

Progressive newcomer Zuzana Caputova secured a surprise victory in Slovakia’s presidential elections this past weekend. We talk about what led to her success and what it means for the future of the country with Oľga Gyárfášova, the director of the Institute of European Studies and International Relations at Comenius University in Bratislava. Histor…

We’re back! Here with us today is Marius Dragomir, the director of the Center for Media, Data, and Society at Central European University (CEU) and we discuss the crisis-ridden media environment in the region. Despite the doom and gloom around the failure of the old business model and increasing political control, there are some good examples emerg…

In a long-awaited episode we tackle the important question of energy security in the Central European region. For this, we talk to András György Deák, senior fellow at the Institute of World Economy of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and a former consultant to several large energy companies in the region. History minute: The Function of the Econo…

In this episode we discuss a new report titled Central European Futures — Five Scenarios for 2025 that maps five possible futures for the region and offers insight as well as recommendations. A true discussion starter! The guests on the show are Joerg Forbrig, a director and senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund and Wojciech Przyb…

We talk to Aljaž Pengov Bitenc, a Slovenian journalist and fellow podcast host in this episode and navigate the not-so-choppy waters of Slovenian politics together. We talk about the outcome of the recent elections, the failure of Orbanization, the lack of illusions but also extremes, and many more. History minute: The Ambiguity of National History…

We’re back! In this episode we are talking to Milan Nič, a senior fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. We discuss what has happened in Slovakia since the horrific murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancé this spring, how much influence does Russia have in the country, and where Slovak politics is going once former …

We talk to Zsuzsanna Szelényi, an independent MP in the outgoing Hungarian parliament to make sense of Fidesz’s third supermajority and explore the future trajectory of Hungary’s politics. History Minute: Gramsci and the Rural Vote in Hungarian History Resources: Can Viktor Orban be Defeated on April 8?, Zsuzsanna Szelényi, Visegrad Insight, 2 Apri…

In this special episode we bring you an extended history minute. Gábor Egry, a historian at the Institute for Political History in Budapest is our guide as we try to construct a more nuanced interpretation of the current Polish memory row and touch on nation building and history building in Romania and Hungary. Resources: Seven Circles of European …

Welcome to 2018! In this episode we look back at the tumultuous events of last year and discuss what 2018 has in store for the region. Our guest is Tsveta Petrova, faculty at the European Institute at Columbia University, where she teaches and advises the MA students in European History, Politics, and Society. History minute: The EU — an organizati…

This is a special episode that features a discussion and review of two books about contemporary Hungarian politics. In the first half, we tackle veteran journalist Paul Lendvai’s new book about Viktor Orbán, while in the second half, we discuss the system that Orbán has built up since 2010 with András Lászlo Pap, a constitutional scholar and resear…

In this episode, we talk with Balázs Váradi, an economist and cofounder at the Budapest Institute for Policy Analysis and we discuss the (obscure) funding mechanisms of the European Union and their use and abuse. While corruption has always been an issue with cohesion funds, Brexit and the looming reform of the union could fundamentally change thes…

The Czech elections have brought a number of smaller and bigger surprises over the weekend, including the comfortable victory of a billionaire businessman and the rise of antiestablishment parties. In this episode, we talk to Michael Colborne, a journalist based in Prague, and Sean Hanley, a senior lecturer at University College London (UCL). We as…

We tackle the Visegrad Four cooperation in this episode, talking about its past, present, and future with Wojciech Przybylski, the editor in chief of Visegrad Insight and chairman of Res Publica Nowa. The V4 group made up of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia has received much attention since the European migration crisis broke out i…

In this episode we talk about corruption trends and the trajectory of the anticorruption fight in Romania with Laura Stefan, an anticorruption expert with the Romanian think tank Expert Forum. Laura tells us about the incentives in Romania’s political system that sustain corruption and the potential problems stemming from the use of criminal law to…

We tackle propaganda, fake news, and numbers in general in this episode. For this enormous task, we talk to freelance Canadian journalist Michael Colborne, who is currently based in Prague and has written for Coda Story, Al-Jazeera, CBC, and others. History minute: Traditions of mistrust and distrust in East Central Europe Resources: Surveying Some…

This is the second part of In Between Europe’s explainer on what is happening to the independent judiciary in Poland with Christian Davies of the Guardian. In part I, we looked at the big picture, while in this episode we go down the nitty-gritty of laws and the main ideas around democracy and separation of powers. History minute: The Failure of De…

In this episode we address recent developments in Poland and the threat to judicial independence since Law and Justice came to power with Christian Davies of the Guardian. This is only part I of a mega Poland explainer — part II will go more into detail on what has happened to the Constitutional Tribunal and other judicial organs. History minute: T…

We focus on Austrian politics in this third episode, talking to Anton Pelinka, a professor of political science at the Budapest-based Central European University. Austria has received much attention recently due to problematic presidential elections and a strong comeback by the far-rightist Freedom Party. We talk about how things got here and about…

In this episode we talked with Martin Ehl, the chief international editor of the economic daily Hospodarske noviny. We covered all things Czech Republic, including the ongoing government crisis, instability in Czech politics, and the chances of Orbanization in the near future. History minute: Švejk and anti-elitism Resources: The Poisoned Quill, Ma…

In this first episode of the In Between Europe podcast, we discussed extremism and xenophobia in Hungary and the interesting trajectory of the infamous Jobbik party with Bulcsú Hunyadi, a senior analyst at Political Capital. History Minute: Resentment and exclusion in 20th century Hungary Resources: DEREX Index, Political Capital The Secret of Jobb…