Zsuzsanna is foreign policy specialist, former politician, author and founding director of the CEU Democracy Institute Leadership Academy. Before joining the CEU Democracy Institute, Zsuzsanna Szelényi was Richard von Weizsäcker fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin and Europe’s Future Fellow of the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen. She is conducting research on…
This episode with Zsuzsanna Szelényi explores Hungary’s dramatic political transformation following the end of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule, examining how an entrenched illiberal system was dismantled through democratic means and what this reveals about the resilience of liberal democracy in Europe. The conversation traces the structural factors that converged to break Orbán’s grip on power—including economic mismanagement,…
