The Fourth Danube Institute – The Heritage Foundation Geopolitical Summit - DAY 2

Since the last Danube Institute-Heritage Foundation Geopolitical Summit, the world has seen a number of changes and accelerations. Within democracies, we have seen more people vote in 2024 than in any year in modern history; we have seen the power of corporations continue to increase, with implications for the power of the state; we have seen the erosion of the remaining vestiges of post-cold war unipolarity, and the consolidation of a multipolar model of world power; we have seen increasing tensions between the advocates of the energy realism, and the heralds of energy idealism; and we have seen the competition for hearts and minds and the supposed ‘moral high ground’, in the context of at least two wars that have divided the opinions of nations and families alike.

In the context of all of this, this year’s Summit brings together leading thinkers, writers, and practitioners to discuss these topics, centered on the unifying theme that they all share: ‘Whose New World Order?’

Does the near future belong to the left or right? Does power lie with the state, or corporate interests, and which is preferable? Who sets the rules of the game in a multipolar world? Which energy strategy will best prepare societies for the rainy days ahead? And which narratives of peace and justice will prevail, in the face of escalating conflicts with global implications? The panels will discuss all these topics in the context of the conference theme.

0:00 - INTRO

1:25 - KEYNOTE ADDRESS: “CULTURE, GEOPOLITICS, & WAR”
• Prof. Frank Füredi, Executive Director, MCC Brussels

21:23 - PANEL V, WHOSE PEACE? THE COMPETITION FOR THE MORAL HIGH GROUND
In the wake of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the world has seen, from Eastern Europe to the Levant, various 20th century antagonisms reopen like poorly sutured wounds, with more ruptures likely to in the coming years. The wars may be regional, but the consequences are global. Among these consequences are strong splits at all levels of society over where the moral high-ground is located,
splits that do not strictly reflect political allegiance. The panel will assess which ‘side’ has more influence on world order, and what implications this may have.

23:59 - Amir Avivi, Chairman and Founder, IDSF
36:39 - Tomasz Grzywaczewski, War Journalist, Director of “Erase the Nation”; Visiting Fellow, Danube Institute
44:41 - Dr. Attila Demkó, Head of Centre for Geopolitics, Mathias Corvinus
Collegium (MCC)
50:08 - Michael Doran, Hudson Institute Center for Peace and Security in the
Middle East

59:13 - AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

1:24:22 - KEYNOTE ADDRESS: “CULTURE AND NATIONAL SECURITY”
• Honorable Robert Wilkie, Distinguished National Security Fellow,
America First Policy Institute; Former US Secretary of Veterans Affairs

1:54:39 - PANEL VI, THE FUTURE OF NATO
The status of NATO has been a topic of discussion at least since Donald Trump’s election in 2016, and is a topic that has only become more pertinent as a war has broken out between Russia and the state, Ukraine, that acts as a buffer between it and the western countries of the NATO bloc. In light of this background and context, and with the US election imminent, and the re-election of President Trump a strong
possibility, what is the future of NATO? What role will it play in the future world order?

1:58:06 - Panel Keynote: Antony J. Tata, Brigadier General (US Army, Retired),
former PTDO Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
2:13:56 - Otto Tabuns, Director of the Baltic Security Foundation, Latvia
2:21:32 - Arvid Hallén, Program Director and co-founder, Oikos, Stockholm
2:27:52 - Jim Hanson, President, WorldStrat
2:36:26 - István Balogh, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Hungary to
NATO

2:49:14 - AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

3:29:03 - CONFERENCE CLOSING REMARKS
• István Kiss, Executive Director, Danube Institute