PUBLICATION
What Can Liberals and Democrats Fight with ? Finding a Winning Narrative in the High-stakes 2024 European Elections.
Our partner, Hungarian Europe Society, issued a new publication called “What Can Liberals and Democrats Fight With ? Finding a Winning Narrative in the High-stakes 2024 European Elections”.
The publication is thematically following an international conference of the same title, organised by Hungarian Europe Society, as a part of a joint project together with its partners Republikon Institute and 21 Research Center in Budapest, early April this year. The aim of the conference was to explore the future and renewal of liberal democracy both globally and in Europe amidst current international political turbulences and the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The focus was on the upcoming European Parliament elections, highlighting the division between populist/illiberal/anti-European/anti-American and liberal/democratic/pro-European/Atlanticist fractions, particularly evident in Hungary. The conference addressed strategies, narratives, political communication, and organizational tasks necessary in Hungary's hybrid regime under Orbán. The discussion emphasised the importance of reinforcing the European Union's role as a strong geopolitical actor in an increasingly hostile international environment. The recordings of the conference are available at HES’ Youtube channel.
For the publication, editors István Hegedűs and Erik Uszkiewicz have selected the most intriguing papers and presentations by international authors from the conference, encompassing the most important topics, including the polarisation of the society in Hungary and in the CEE region, the future of liberal order, or populist communication.
HES is a non-governmental and non-partisan organisation based in Budapest (Hungary). It intends to be involved in the ongoing international dialogue on the future of liberal democracies and wishes to promote Hungary’s ever-deeper integration into Europe.
