The Transatlantic Race War: Europe, America, and Demographics As National Security
Weekly briefings on the life of The New European Capital of Conservatism.
Budapest This Week
Regular readers will have noted the uptick in Turkic-service in these pages. Diplomatically, Hungary is going all-in on the rising Stans. From Ludovika's new Turkic Studies centre, to the Danube Institute's regular Turkic programming, spearheaded by our Azerbaijani colleague Ibrahim Mammadov. Now, we're about to see the biggest Stan fan plan yet. On December 9, the DI hosts its first Turkic-Western Geopolitical Dialogue. The idea is to span three continents by adding America to the mix (here represented by old friend of the DI James Carafano, senior counsel at The Heritage Foundation). It's a whole-day programme, from 9AM - 4PM. Register on our website.
Karol Nawroski won Poland's recent presidential election. So can he reunite the V4 under the banner of EU-skeptic national populism? Péter Szitás and Pawel Pawlowski are among the panel discussing on Thursday December 11 at 3PM. Register here.
Today, a one-day conference on youth politics is playing out at the MCC Scruton. What do Zoomers, and indeed the mythical Gen Alpha, actually want? What media are they consuming, given most have never met a TV? Are they really all frothing Nazis and Communists, or have one or two settled for a quiet life of camomile and Isaiah Berlin? It's not too late to tune into the hip jive of today: the registration form is here.
David Dusenbury is an elder statesman of the Danube Institute: he was here for two years before he left to become a professor at the University of Florida. He's known for his award-winning theology, but lately he has picked up an interest in China's deep philosophical exchanges with the West. In service of that, at 10AM, December 12, at the DI, he'll be in conversation with Philip Pilkington on their joint 'Re-Civilisation' project. As Ghandi might've said: “I think it would be a very good idea.”
What’s Based
America The Slightly-Too-Brave?
In the early hours of Friday morning, with no prior notice, the White House released its first National Security Statement - a map to what it wants, geopolitically. For the chancelleries of Europe, it made for uncomfortable reading.
Here's what you need to know:
1 — The US says it will be actively 'cultivating resistance' to current EU policy within the bloc. It argues that data suggesting many NATO members on the continent will soon become 'majority non-European' represents a security threat.2 — It goes on to say that "America is, understandably, sentimentally attached to the European continent—and, of course, to Britain and Ireland. The character of these countries is also strategically important because we count upon creative, capable, confident, democratic allies to establish conditions of stability and security." They love us, really.3 — It digs in on a post-war reset with Putin, arguing for: “Reestablishing conditions of stability within Europe and strategic stability with Russia.” 4 — In response to the new document, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said Europe did “not need outside advice”. Please send cash only?5 — The document also dials down US commitment to the Middle East, dials up the importance of the Indo-Pacific, and formally acknowledges the so-called Don-roe doctrine (recently witnessed in strikes against Venezuelan narco-boats). The full version is here - and well worth a read.
Other News
Paper of the Week
The Death of Merit: How Metrics Replaced Judgment in Higher Education
Why are Western Universities getting worse? According to research by Dr. Jonathan Price, Visiting Fellow at the Danube Institute, and Ashby Neterer, Torrance Scholar of Theology at Oriel College, Oxford, it may be down to our obsession with making measurements into targets. The fix? A teaching regime that treats students more like trade apprentices and less like cogs in a bureaucratic machine.
"If we could imagine a higher education freed from empiricist merit—the relentless need to weigh and rank—it might look more like an apprenticeship than a bureaucracy. Students and scholars alike would be judged by the clarity of their thought and engagement with subject matter, not merely by their numerical outputs and ideological adherence. If peer review took truth seriously, its emphasis could shift from quantity to quality, from accumulation to understanding. Care of the soul might even return to the center of scholarly pursuits."
Eyes & Ears
Comings & Goings
Coming: Ludovika University of Public Service has a couple of new fellows turning up this week for short stints at their new Public Diplomacy hub. Mansoor Ahmad Khan was the Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2020-22. He was Chair of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and Ambassador to Austria. Then, Dr. Pawel Pawłowski was Chairman of the Foundation Council at the Warsaw Institute. He's a legal scholar turned policy expert, and works on disinformation, free expression, and digital regulation. He's also helped build the Centre for Disinformation & Cybersecurity Research in Wrocław. He will of course also be on the DI's Poland panel.
City Life
It can't be Christmas unless you're off to see The Nutcracker Suite at the Opera House.
Fans of €7 cappuccinos will already know the W Hotel on Andrássy. But if your taste in Christmas markets is more than just wooden toys and glühwein, you might consider a visit to their own rather chi-chi market, in the W Lounge. Entry is free, but life's little luxuries are not.
If you have never fallen on your derriere in front of a confused child at the Hero's Square ice rink, can you even say you belong in this city? The annual tradition of the heroism of the un-coordinated takes place every day from now till February, until 9PM. Tickets are about 4000 Ft.
Scandi Christmas is its own vibe: next Sunday, the Norma Grand is offering entry to their salmon and meatballs hygge wonderland for only 25 000 Ft, including wine pairings.
This is the last week of regular programming for Based In Budapest in 2025. We'll be back next week with something a bit different, then back to our desks in 2026. Thanks to our readers for their tips and bouquets throughout the year. Now please go out and inhale Christmas through every pore.
Dates For Your Diary
Danube Institute EU Tech Summit — 29 JanuaryWiener Akademikerball, Vienna — 20 February “Nem kolbászból van a kerítés"— “The fence isn't made of sausages” (It's not as good as you think)