In my book Twilight of Democracy, I wrote about how authoritarian populism had divided friends, including in Hungary. After Prime Minister Magyar was sworn in today, he said he hoped "Family, friends and communities will be able to speak to each other again." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Schrodinger’s foreign policy: the Trump administration says the US is simultaneously at war/not at war with Iran, Iran is a mortal threat/utterly vanquished, and the Strait of Hormuz is both open and closed. Got it?

@sbg1 Susan Glasser: Trump "has conducted this conflict in the Middle East as a one-man smoke machine obscuring reality behind such a cloud of lies and disinformation that it’s difficult to imagine that even Trump himself could keep straight what is real and what is fiction." /1

⚡️ Moldovan president rejects Nobel Peace Prize nomination, says Ukrainian POWs deserve it instead. "Today, I was watching Ukrainian (prisoners of war) who returned home from Russia, and these are the people who deserve the Peace Prize," Moldovan President Maia Sandu said.

Democratic backsliding is coordinated. Our response must be too. 2025 CFK Global Fellows Flávia Pellegrino, @gscheiring.bsky.social, and @ivejvoda.bsky.social share the alliances and shared strategies needed to confront rising authoritarianism today.

Are you a translator working on non‑fiction in the humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, between Eastern ↔ Western European languages? Apply for a 2026/2027 Paul Celan Fellowship at the IWM! Deadline: 16 Jan 2026. ➡️ iwm.at/calls/paul-celan-fellowship-26-27 In coop with S. Fischer Stiftung

In the latest Vienna Coffee House Conversation, @ivejvoda.bsky.social talks with journalist & foreign policy expert @schwindelfrei.bsky.social, co-founder of Idemo!, about democratic engagement & the diaspora’s role in the Western Balkans. @erstestiftung.org Listen here: www.iwm.at/europes-futu...

Access to minerals that power a battery has emerged as a vital geopolitical, economic & social concern. So where does the lithium, the nickel, and the cobalt come from? Who controls the supply? Thursday Oct 3 20.00 hrs Docu and Talk @debalie.bsky.social. debalie.nl/cinema/cined...

We’re thrilled to join this year’s forum alongside global leaders, scholars, and activists to explore new visions for hard realities.

Special thanks to our CFK Global Fellows Koketso Moeti, Chris Muriithi, Flávia Pellegrino, @gscheiring.bsky.social, and @ivejvoda.bsky.social for helping us work toward our goal of strengthening an international community of partners to promote and defend inclusive democracies around the globe.

In one of this week’s most popular IWM YouTube videos, historian Maria Todorova explores the shifting horizons of the Balkans, their transient lifespan as a geopolitical construct, and the role of race in understanding the region’s history. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaoG...

The New York Times shows servile ABC/Disney how it should be done on.ft.com/4gyfAii

💥🕵️ NEW INVESTIGATION: We reveal the ringleader of the GRU’s parcel-bomb plot—a Russian radioactive-materials smuggler—trace the explosives’ route across NATO borders, and show how the GRU recruited Russians and Ukrainians in the West. @vsquare.bsky.social @michaeldweiss.bsky.social

Can democracy survive amid climate collapse, pandemics, and nuclear threats? In a conversation with Ivan Krastev, Jonathan White explores how a sense of doom redefines our understanding and trust in democracy. Watch their talk from the #VHF 2024: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wLN... #TBT

🗣️What happened to Europe’s outrage? At the #VHF25, historian Maria Todorova joins IWM's Ivan Krastev to ask why the Yugoslav wars vanished from Europe’s memory — and what that says about the tension between conscience and consciousness. 👉 Join the conversation: www.humanitiesfestival.at/todorova

🚨 Program Launch 🚨 The IWM is proud to announce Ukraine and the World, a new research program building on more than a decade of engagement with Ukrainian scholarship, headed by IWM Lesia Ukraїnka Permanent Fellow @timothysnyder.bsky.social. 👉 iwm.at/news/ukraine...

Spain’s 20th century was shaped by one man in particular: dictator Francisco Franco (1892–1975). Why does his legacy remain so hard to confront? ➡️ Join @casanovahistory.bsky.social from @unizar.es and Judit Carrera at this year's #VHF to learn more: www.humanitiesfestival.at/casanova

If only there had been some kind of warning… Germany car companies waking up to the geopolitical world.

🇬🇪🇪🇺 Happy #Europe Day! The people of Georgia are fighting every day to stay on the path to Europe - with courage, unity, and determination. #EuropeDay2025 #GeorgiaProtests

Exit Exit - the music festival is leaving Novi Sad after 25 years, blaming pressure from the Serbian government. The festival has supported the student protests

Stefan Lehne on the EU’s response to a series of disruptions including the financial crisis, Brexit, the pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the implications of these events for European integration and global positioning: www.iwm.at/europes-futu... @erstestiftung.org @ivejvoda.bsky.social

In this new episode of the Vienna Coffee House Conversations, @ivejvoda.bsky.social welcomes Niccolò Milanese (@euroalter.bsky.social) to discuss the fragility of democracy in Europe amid global turbulence: iwm.at/europes-futu... @erstestiftung.org

In a recent Vienna Coffee House Conversations podcast episode, host @ivejvoda.bsky.social sat down with Zsuzsanna Szelényi to discuss how Trump’s unpredictability has prompted European leaders to rethink their security and defense strategies: iwm.at/europes-futu... @erstestiftung.org

Tune in to @fm4.orf.at at 18:40 to listen to IWM Permanent Fellow @ivejvoda.bsky.social discuss with @christianccummins.bsky.social about the impact of Serbian protests and how the protesters are comparable to the early revolutionaries of 18th century France. Live here: fm4.orf.at/player/live

Could student-led #protests in #Serbia be a harbinger of more wide-spread change? A rejection of authoritarian governance and simplistic solutions? A move towards broad consensus well-thought out policy? @ivejvoda.bsky.social of @iwm.at thinks so: fm4.orf.at/player/20250...

IWM Permanent Fellow @ivejvoda.bsky.social speaks on TVP World about the protest movement in Serbia and its demands for justice, media freedom, and fair elections. He also reflects on what to expect now that the EU is supporting the call for democratic reforms. youtube.com/live/oVJRAP3...

The second 1-1/2 hour TV debate without a single question about Germany's relationship with China. And perhaps more astounding, no discussion tonight about how Germany/Europe should react to a withdrawal of US security guarantees and/or imposition of tariffs.

Europe needs 'a mutual defence pact, outside NATO, extending beyond the EU to include Britain, Norway and others'. Time to bring back the West European Union - which had a stronger commitment than NATO's Art 5? @gideonrachman.bsky.social on de-risking from Trump's America. on.ft.com/4jZMoSB

The new episode of our Vienna Coffee House Conversations podcast with Zsuzsanna Szelényi looks at the potential impact of Trump’s presidency on Europe, the security challenges facing the EU & the rise of illiberal democracy: www.iwm.at/europes-futu... @erstestiftung.org @ivejvoda.bsky.social

In this fireside chat, @nathalietocci.bsky.social discussed with IWM Permanent Fellows Ivan Krastev & @ivejvoda.bsky.social her new book, published by Mandelbaum Verlag (2024) in cooperation with the IWM: www.youtube.com/live/-2Uyg4O... #TBT @erstestiftung.org

Historical sociologist @lukecooper100.bsky.social in conversation with IWM Permanent Fellow @ivejvoda.bsky.social on Ukraine’s resilience in the face of the ongoing Russian invasion and the broader geopolitical challenges facing the country: www.iwm.at/europes-futu... @erstestiftung.org