Calum Nicholson

✝️Learn all about the many challenges that Iraqui Christians are facing from our recent research paper by the one & only @ctmnicholson #DanubeResearch #DanubePapers

A requiem for Mathias Corvinus Collegium @MCC_Budapest was more than an educational institution. It gave thousands of young Hungarians free education, a strong community and international opportunities unlike anything available elsewhere in Central Europe. It was open to everyone across the entire Carpathian Basin, from primary-school age until the end of university. For many, it opened up a world they would otherwise never have been able to access. At the same time, an unprecedented ecosystem of intellectual influence and international relationships emerged around MCC. Budapest became one of the intellectual centres of the Western conservative world. Important thinkers, politicians and opinion leaders from around the world came here, got to know Hungary, and many came to regard it as an example. Many people at home supported this work. Some did not understand its significance. From abroad, however, it was clear just how powerful all of this was. Even our political opponents were forced to acknowledge that Hungary’s influence far exceeded what its size and economic weight would otherwise have suggested. Throughout history, Hungary has always fared badly when it was not known and others told the world who we were. In recent years, we had finally begun once again to shape the story told about us. As a result of the independent work of so many people and so many institutions, all pulling in the same direction, we became an intellectual point of reference from which Hungary as a whole benefited greatly - in foreign policy, economically and culturally alike. MCC played a major role in this, for which everyone can be grateful to its staff, teachers and researchers! Now they are dismantling all of this. Not simply an institution, but Hungary’s ability to have its own voice, its own international network and its own intellectual reach. The new government has no need for any of this. It does not want Hungary to be an independent point of reference; it is content for us to dissolve into the liberal politics of Brussels. The state has now nationalised MCC, bringing its governance, assets and future under direct state control. It did so together with several other autonomous institutions, all taken over in the same sweeping act of nationalisation. Such a mass seizure of independent institutions is unprecedented in a country that still claims to respect the rule of law. The dismantling of MCC is therefore both a loss for young people and an act of national self-sabotage. This is not a transformation. It is a slow agony. The national camp, however, will never give up. It will never allow Hungary to be plundered, its sovereignty taken away or its voice silenced. Nor will I. I will fight for a lifetime. The darkness will yet give way to light. May God protect Hungary!

Just finished Carlos Eire’s massive history “Reformations”. Undoubtedly one of the best and most important books I’ve ever read.

Cambridge colleges should stop doing this. The 'Progress Pride' flag is politically contentious and makes colleges look like activist outposts more than broad communities of scholars of differing views seeking the truth. Stop it.

An update from Professor Arday goodlawproject.org/an-update…

After three years, today I am stepping aside from my duties as president of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs. It was a pleasure to meet Minister @_OrbanAnita to discuss the Institute’s recent work. I am proud of what we have accomplished in developing deeper relationships for Hungary around the world—from Ashgabat to Washington, from Cape Town to New Delhi, and beyond. Coming from the United States to lead the @hiia_budapest has been a challenging and rewarding experience. I am grateful for the opportunity, and especially for the support of my sixty-five colleagues at the Institute, whose dedication has built the Institute into what it is today. We have built a firm foundation, and I wish them continued success!

Yes, those photos you’ve seen are real. More than 18 years ago, a baby named Lamine Yamal and his mom Sheila met Lionel Messi at a UNICEF fundraising photoshoot. Today, their achievements on the pitch inspire millions. Off the pitch, both Messi and Lamine Yamal use their voices and platforms as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors to support and advocate for children around the world. The goal? That every child survives, thrives, and fulfils their potential. We are proud to have them on our team. Credit: Joan Monfort