democracy

Coronavirus has become water for the mill of all those who would like a strong central, authoritarian-like government. On the Polish radio, I have already heard the cries of admiration for the Chinese system, which apparently would be more effective than the European Union is.

Take James Bond for instance. Ever since the series’ soft reboot in 2006 with Casino Royale, there is not a single enemy country in the movies, despite the fact that Russia upped its game in manipulating the internal politics of Western countries, and China sugarcoating its increasingly Orwellian dystopia.

Hungarian politics in 2020 will be different from 2019 in a number of ways. After years of paralysis and disarray of the Hungarian non-Fidesz opposition, they are back in the political game after a surprise non-defeat at the municipal elections in October 2019.

The liberal order is still a relatively young system by and large. Over millennia before the industrial revolution and the ascendancy of liberal ideas did tribalism of some sort or the other prevail. The legacy of liberal order is undeniably impressive.

While Western democracy is showing increasing signs of uncertainty, people look, with quiet admiration, to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The power in those countries is in hand, stable and effective at affecting people\'s behavior and actions.

Paweł Kukiz can be considered as a typical product of “post-politics”, one of many types in the gallery of populists. Somewhere between Beppe Grillo, Thierry Baudet, Vladimir Zelensky, and Joseph Estrada. He is the symptom of the times we live in.

Liberalism won, no doubt about it. The world is migrating towards more freedom, more equality, and as a result less poverty and war. Nazi Germany was defeated in World War II and the Soviet Union imploded unders its horrid lies. Why don’t we feel like victors then?

Even though Hong Kong operates under separate laws within the ‘one country, two systems’ model, the invisible hand of mainland China is becoming increasingly visible in the territory. In response, mass protests have been ongoing for four months in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is much more than meets the eye. Beyond the soaring skyscrapers and glimmering shopping malls, it is the only place on Chinese soil where citizens dare stand up to those in power and, once in a while, manage to force concessions out of them.

“How Do Democracies Win?” was the main theme of this year\'s edition of Freedom Games, an annual prestigious forum of ideas organized in Lodz, Poland. Needless to say, the title of the forum is a question uneasy to answer. I would also not dare to provide a straight-forward answer to it.