Entropy is a term physicists use to describe decay, and it’s starting to look as if entropy could be catching up with Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. I write about the possibility that Orbánism is heading toward regime collapse in this piece… Read More ›
Politics
Facing a Serious Challenger, Orbán Moves Closer to Naked Authoritarianism
Since exploding onto the political scene last February, Péter Magyar had completely upended Hungarian politics and has Orbán and his cronies in a state of panic. My latest piece for The Bulwark. “IF IT KEEPS ON RAINING, [the] levee’s going… Read More ›
The Influence of Austrofascism on JD Vance
One troubling feature of our current politics is the extent to which certain religious intellectuals have become enamored of early 20th century “clerical fascism.” Clerical fascism shouldn’t be confused with Nazism. It wasn’t committed to Hitler’s Aryan and social Darwinist… Read More ›
In Hungary, Scandal and Crisis Suddenly Energize the Opposition
ALTHOUGH ONE MIGHT NOT KNOW IT given Hungary’s current reputation, the country has noble liberal traditions. In 1848 Hungary gave birth to one of the most successful democratic revolutions in Europe, sadly suppressed after a year by Austrian and Russian… Read More ›
How To Understand Germany’s Policy Toward Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attend a photo opportunity ahead of bilateral talks at the 2022 Munich Security Conference on February 19, 2022 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexandra Beier – Pool/Getty Images)
Lashing Out, Rod Dreher (Again) Reveals His Ignorance of Hungary
People interested in Christianity, American politics, and the culture wars may have run across the name of Rod Dreher. He’s a rather prolific writer and journalist who maintains a regular blog with the magazine The American Conservative. Some years ago… Read More ›
What Viktor Orbán Revealed This Weekend
Viktor Orbán has a habit of giving controversial speeches in Romania. His notorious 2014 illiberalism speech was delivered there. Just a few weeks ago, he delivered another whopper, which included unmistakably racist language. In an essay I wrote for The… Read More ›
What the ‘National Conservatives’ Get Wrong About Liberalism
National conservatism is a new “movement” of public intellectuals who purport to be conservative. But if conservative is related to conserving, I don’t think they are. They’re actually disgruntled revolutionaries intent on tearing things down. As their name suggests, national… Read More ›
Hungary’s Autocrat Orbán Fends Off Opposition Challenge
I wrote this short article for The Bulwark on April 3, 2022, the night of Viktor Orbán’s big election victory. It was a first take, which I think has held up pretty well. You can read it here.
What Was Putin Thinking?
In this episode of BaerTalk, Svetlana Savranskaya, a Senior Analyst at the National Security Archives, talks about the war in Ukraine from the Russian perspective. She tries to get inside Putin’s head to explain what he might have been thinking… Read More ›
H. David Baer 