Danube Institute Podcast

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Nadia Matar, co-chairman of the Sovereignity Movement. We asked Mrs Matar about the Islamic extremism and security in the West Bank. In our conversation we also discussed the Gaza War and the case of the hostages. In the end, Mrs Matar shared with us her views about the Israeli sovereignity and the future of the West Ba...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we had a two-part discussion with Shirel Liberman, an Israeli influencer of the Voices of Israel program, Chief of Operations at Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy and the co-founder of "Shift," a women-led impact network aimed at supporting women in public diplomacy and enhancing Israel's positive global influence. In this part, we star...

In this episode of Danube Dialogues, John O'Sullivan and Eric Hendriks discuss the reality of world-cultural zones with James Bennett, the popularizer of the term "the Anglosphere".

This is the second webinar in the “China Keywords” series of the Telos-Paul Piccone Institute. In this webinar, Eric Hendriks, the director of TPPI's China Initiative, and Logan West of the Danube Institute talk with Yan Xuetong about the concept of Wangdao, or "The Kingly Way." Among China's most influential foreign policy thinkers, Yan Xuetong is the author of numerous books, i...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Nadia Matar, co-chairman of the Sovereignity Movement. We asked Mrs Matar about the Jewish identity and its connection to the Land of Israel. Since Nadia Matar currently live in the West Bank, she gave us insight into the situation of the israeli settlement in the region and the relation with the Palestinians. Mrs Matar also share with us her...

In this episode of Reflection from Budapest, we interviewed Josh Hasten, International Spokesperson for Gush Etzion, host of the weekly “Israel Uncensored” program and a well-known award winning freelance journalist. Through the discussion we can learn about the settlements and the perception of settler violence in the media and the Western world. We also touched upon the events of October 7 and t...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we interviewed Shadi Khalloul, Director of Strategic Partnerships Alma Research & Education Centre, Founder and President of the Israeli Christian Aramaic Association and Aram Galilee Centre, and reserve captain in the IDF. Listening to the discussion, we can get an overview of the history of the Aramaic community in the Middle East and Israel, and...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Amiad Cohen, director-general of the Tikvah Fund in Israel. We asked Mr Cohen about his intake on Hungary’s strong support of Israel, the IDF’s operation in Rafah, and his insights into the historical background of the current conflict in Gaza. To conclude, we talked about how the war impacted the West Bank, the possibi...

"In war it is perfectly acceptable to lie to your enemy," says Professor David Betz of King's College London, "lying to yourself, though, is the kiss of death". In this episode of the Buda Hills Podcast, we discuss the ways in which Professor Betz thinks the collective West has been lying to itself about war in the twenty-first century.

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Amiad Cohen, director-general of the Tikvah Fund. Since the October 7th massacre, Mr Cohen has been on reserve duty; we asked about his experiences and role in the IDF. Mr Cohen detailed Hamas’s intention behind October 7th and his views on the impossibility of a two-state solution in the foreseeable future, Palestinian violence in the West Ba...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Lt. Col. (Res.) Maurice Hirsch, the Director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a Senior Legal Analyst at Human Rights Voices and a senior researcher at the Israel Defence and Security Forum. We asked Mr Hirsch about his personal, professional and military backgroun...

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest, we had a discussion with Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Yaron Buskila. He is the CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum and a retired IDF commander who currently serves in the reserves as operations officer for the Gaza Division of the Israel Defense Forces. We asked Colonel Buskila about his military background and past experiences in Gaza. D...

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Colonel Christopher P. Costa. Colonel Costa was a former US government official with 35 years of experience, including 25 years in military counterintelligence, human intelligence (HUMINT), and special operations forces (SOF). He also served as the Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Cou...

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest, we had the honor of having Colonel Christopher P. Costa as our guest for the second time in our podcast series. Colonel Costa was a former US government official with 35 years of experience, including 25 years in military counterintelligence, human intelligence (HUMINT), and special operations forces (SOF). He also served as the Special Assista...

Communist states had, and still have, a millennial sense of utopianism. But is secular liberal democracy utopian, too? Could it be that our democratic utopianism is presentist? This is what Professor Zoltán Balázs of Corvinus University argues in the new episode of  Buda Hills Podcast . With our rights "revealed" in the American and French Revolutions, democratic utopianism has located u...

Historian, theologian and ethicist Nigel Biggar CBE, emeritus Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford and Danube Institute Visiting Fellow David Oldroyd-Bolt discusses Professor Biggar's bestselling book 'Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning', which his original publisher tried to cancel before it had even been published, as well as the explosion of public...

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Amir Avivi, a brigadier general retired from the Israel Defence Forces and founder and chairman of the Israeli Defence and Security Forum (IDSF). We asked General Avivi about his command experiences in Gaza operations and how the 2005 Gaza withdrawal of Israeli troops contributed to the October 7th massacre. Gen...

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest, we had a discussion with Amir Avivi, a brigadier general retired from the Israel Defence Forces and founder and chairman of the Israeli Defence and Security Forum (IDSF). We asked General Avivi about his background, upbringing, and his first-hand military career experiences. General Avivi also gave insights into how and why IDSF was founded and...

The Orthodox Christian churches are ancient, yet they are embroiled in twenty-first-century geopolitics. Two Orthodox-majority states, Russia and Ukraine, are locked in a devastating conflict that seems to be reshaping the world order. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Samuel Noble, a historian of Orthodox Christianity. We ask him: Are we seeing the emergence of NATO and non-NATO strands of Orthod...

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest, we had a discussion with His Excellency Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, Israeli Ambassador to Hungary. We asked Mr Hadas-Handelsman about his diplomatic career and the relationship between Hungary and Israel. Mr Hadas-Handelsman detailed Hamas’s brutality on the October 7th massacre and the implications of the war in Gaza. He also shared his insights o...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Professor Yaakov Ariel, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Ariel specializes in the study of Christian-Jewish relations. We asked Professor Ariel about whether incidents of violence in Israel by radical Jewish groups against Christian communities have increased...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Professor Yaakov Ariel, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Ariel specializes in the study of Christian-Jewish relations. We asked Professor Ariel about the Christian-Jewish relationship in the US as well as in Israel. We also discussed Christian Zionism and American Christians' su...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Dr. Jürgen Bühler, the President of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). In our conversation, Dr. Bühler explained the importance of Christian Zionism and the Biblical approach of Israel and shared his insights on Messianic Judaism. To conclude, Dr. Bühler shared the ICEJ’s plans to continue supporting...

Inthis episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Dr. Jürgen Bühler, the President of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). In our conversation, Dr. Bühler walked us through his fascinating family story and the history and work of ICEJ. Dr. Bühler shared his insights on the importance of the Christian-Jewish relationship in Israel. He also detailed how Israeli Christian communi...

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we continued our discussion with Or Yissachar, the Head of Research Department at the Israel Defence and Security Forum. We asked Mr Yissachar about the future of Gaza, how the infrastructure would be rebuilt and who would fill the vacuum if Israel eliminates Hamas. We also talked about the refugee question of Palestinians. To conclude, we discussed th...