In the morning program of the Hungarian-language broadcast of Slovak Radio RTVS, Péter Techet analyzed the results of the regional elections in Styria and their impact on federal politics, i.e., the coalition negotiations in Vienna.
The full interview can be listened to here.
In the Hungarian independent media platform Partizán, Péter Techet was interviewed about the history and present state of German-Russian relations in light of the German government crisis.
The broadcast can be watched here (Techet speech starting at 59:15).
Photo credit: Walter Skokanitsch Fotografie
Federal Minister Polaschek: Excellent researchers honoured at the Danubius Awards 2024
At the ceremony of the Danubius Awards 2024, researchers from the Danube region were honoured for their scientific achievements
On 14 November, a total of 16 researchers were honoured for their scientific contribution to addressing challenges of the region at the Danubius Awards 2024 ceremony at the University for Continuing Education Krems.
The “Danubius Award 2024” goes to Prof. Marek Nekula. Dr. Ana Pajvančić-Cizelj has been awarded the “Danubius Mid-Career Award 2024”. In addition, 14 young scientists from the Danube region were honoured with the “Danubius Young Scientist Awards”.
Martin Polaschek, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research, congratulated the award winners and emphasized the importance of cross-border cooperation in science and research. “There are many common challenges along the Danube, as the dramatic flooding in September has shown. In order to be able to act with foresight and in the interests of society as a whole, policymakers need the knowledge and insights of researchers in all disciplines. The excellence and diverse expertise of this year’s award winners forms a solid basis for sustainably mastering the challenges of the future, seizing opportunities and driving innovative solutions. I congratulate all the awardees”, said Polaschek.
The “Danubius Award” was established in 2011 to honor researchers who have dealt with the Danube region in an outstanding way with their scientific work. The Danubius Young Scientist Awards, which have been in existence since 2014, are intended to make the excellent talents in the region visible and to strengthen their international networking.
The focus of this year’s award winner Prof. Marek Nekula is on the interdisciplinary connection of the fields of Slavic Studies, German Studies and Jewish Studies, both in literary and cultural studies, as well as in linguistics and historiography. Prof. Nekula was involved in the Czech edition of Franz Kafka’s writings as editor and translator. For the German critical edition of Kafka, he translated and commented on the Czech texts and text fragments of Franz Kafka. In addition, he makes a significant contribution to intercultural understanding and the culture of remembrance through his work in the reappraisal of Jewish literature and the management of the Bohemicum Regensburg-Passau at the University of Regensburg.
Dr. Ana Pajvančić-Cizelj, who was awarded the “Danubius Mid-Career Award 2024”, dedicates her research to the urban and spatial dimensions of Europeanization, (de)democratization and feminist urban politics in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. She is editor-in-chief of Sociologija, one of the leading sociological journals in the Southeastern European region. From 2021 to 2023, she was a Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellow at the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz and is currently a Senior Scientist at the Department of European Politics and Democracy Research at the University for Continuing Education Krems.
Friedrich Faulhammer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe at the award ceremony: “I am very pleased that we are once again able to honour outstanding researchers from the Danube region together with the Ministry of Education, Science and Research, in order to highlight the existing excellence at the universities and research institutions in the region”.
Winners of the “Danubius Young Scientist Awards”:
Moldova and Georgia Election Results Highlight a Dilemma: European Embrace or Russian Bear Hug? An article for Haaretz with comments from IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer.
Read the full article here.
The article in Hebrew is available here.
The last wild rivers of Europe flow through the Balkans – but for how much longer will they be “wild”? Writing for the Fair Observer, IDM Research Associate Rebecca Thorne explains why traditional hydropower projects in the Balkans are a risky investment and how NGOs are fighting to protect these rivers.
Read the full article here.
IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer and IDM Research Associate Malwina Talik have recently published an article in Fair Observer entitled “Austria’s Arduous Path to a New Government Without the Far Right.”
In this article they explain Austria’s challenging path to forming a new government.
Read the full article here.
On the program of the independent media platform Partizán, Péter Techet analysed the significance of the EU Summit in Budapest, focusing on its relevance within Hungary’s EU Council Presidency and the context of Hungarian domestic politics.
The video can be watched here (starting at 1 hour and 4 minutes):
In an op-ed for the Austrian daily Die Presse, Péter Techet, on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, discusses attempts in Hungary to reinterpret this anti-Soviet uprising in line with the pro-Russian course of Budapest’s foreign policy.
On October 23, Hungary celebrates the anti-Soviet revolution of 1956. Despite this, and the expectation that Hungary should support Ukraine’s current fight for freedom, Budapest continues to pursue a pro-Russian course — with some government politicians even reinterpreting the 1956 revolution to align with it. Techet compares this new approach to memory politics to the Goulash Communism before 1989, when the 1956 revolution was similarly deemed irresponsible.
The article can be read here.
In his op-ed for The Kyiv Independent, IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer cautions that Moldova’s EU integration referendum risks oversimplifying a complex issue. He highlights the dangers of binary choices in such decisions, especially given the risks of disinformation. Schäffer calls for a more informed debate on Moldova’s future and its path toward EU membership.
Read full article here.
