(Observer Network News)
John Mearsheimer, a well-known international relations theorist who recently promoted his book in Hungary, was received by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, the Hungarian capital. ORBÁN BALÁZS, THE PRIME MINISTER'S POLITICAL DIRECTOR, ALSO TWEETED PHOTOS OF THE TWO MEN MEETING AND SAID THE TWO HAD AN EYE ON UKRAINE. Hungary has repeatedly voted against EU sanctions against Russia.
On the 9th, Francis Fukuyama, a scholar who put forward the "end of history" and disagreed with Mearsheimer's views on the Russian-Ukrainian issue, retweeted the above tweet "lamenting", saying that Mearsheimer turned into a "full-on MAGA" (full-on MAGA). Unexpectedly, Orban Baraz "replied" this: this is better than being stuck in the "end of history".
This month, Mearsheimer's The Great Delusion: The Liberal Dream and International Reality was translated into Hungarian and published in the country, and he was invited by the publisher to Budapest to promote his new work.
According to the Budapester Zeitung, on Tuesday (8th) local time, Orban received Mearsheimer at the Carmeroth Monastery in Budapest and had an informal conversation with him.
On the same day, Orban Baraz also posted on Twitter that Orban welcomed Mearsheimer's arrival and discussed the Ukrainian issue with him. Judging from the photos of the scene he released, Orban also got a copy of Mearsheimer's new work.
He said the two "agreed that this [Russia-Ukraine conflict] is the most dangerous conflict in decades and must end as soon as possible."
Twitter screenshot
Orban himself tweeted that the two had a "great conversation," the biggest point of which was that "the liberals got it completely wrong."
"We need more cool-headed realists like him to make our world a safer place," he wrote. ”
Twitter screenshot
This naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the liberal theorists. One of its famous representatives, Fukuyama, who has known Mearsheimer for a long time, retweeted Orban Baraz's tweet on the 9th to "lament": "John is moving from a realist to a thorough MAGAIST. ”
As we all know, MAGA is an abbreviation of former US President Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again", and is now often regarded as a symbol of American nationalists, and Orban, who holds a right-wing conservative and nationalist political stance, once called himself Trump's "friend".
However, Orban Baraz also quickly tweeted to "fight back": "It may be better to turn somewhere else than to be stuck in the same position, such as 'the end of history'." ”
Orban Baraz shares the same surname as Prime Minister Orban, but is not related by blood.
Twitter screenshot
In 1989, on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the great changes in Eastern Europe, Fukuyama proposed the "end of history." He claimed at the time that what the West called "liberal democracy" would be "the ultimate form of human government" and that "there could be no better alternative."
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Fukuyama again put forward a "prophecy", saying that Russia would be "completely defeated" in Ukraine. He also predicted that such an outcome could have long-term implications for world history: Russia's defeat would make it possible to "give freedom a new lease of life" and free the West from fears of the decline of "global democracy."
Mearsheimer is best known for his pioneering doctrine of "offensive realism," and his masterpiece The Tragedy of Great Power Politics points out that it is difficult for any country to achieve global hegemony, and that great powers are therefore in a state of never-ending competition.
On Ukraine, Mearsheimer advocated the neutralization of Ukraine. He has always believed that in the process of promoting NATO's eastward expansion and establishing "friendly relations" with Ukraine, the United States has increased the possibility of war between nuclear weapons and laid the foundation for the situation in Russia and Ukraine. Back after the events in Crimea in 2014, Mearsheimer wrote: "The United States and its European allies bear much of the responsibility for this crisis." "
In a lecture at the Hungarian National University of Administration (NKE) on the evening of Tuesday (8th) local time, Mearsheimer also praised Hungary's neutral position in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Hungary, which is highly dependent on Russian energy, clearly opposes sanctions against Russia, and has repeatedly voted against EU sanctions against Russia. Orban has described EU sanctions against Russia as "shooting in their own lungs" and will only harm the European economy.
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