Analysis
Economic Security
The Western Balkans Are Ageing Before Getting Rich
9 September 2026
28 March 2022
Is Hungary on the side of the West, or of Putin’s war?
‘Whose side are you on?’ Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy asked Viktor Orbán as he dialled into the EU-US summit in Brussels on Thursday. Vladimir Putin’s was the implication after Hungary once again refused to allow its territory to be used to supply weapons to Ukraine.
The traditional view of Hungarians is that they value stability and security above all else. They are very worried about war and do not want to be dragged in. This was confirmed by polling I did with the ARENA centre (then at the LSE, now at John’s Hopkins).
Editor’s Pick: Can Viktor Orbán’s U-Turn Be Trusted?
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Garvan Walshe is a political strategist and founder pro-democracy tech company Article7. He is a former national security policy adviser to the British conservative party. He holds a PhD from the University of Manchester and was a Max Weber fellow at the European University Institute.
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