Ivan Krastev: The Light that Failed

Vienna Humanities Festival 2019 Ivan Krastev in conversation with Eric Frey This event was recorded on 28 September 2019 at Wien Museum. What does Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein have in common with the illiberal turn of Central Europe? A lot, claims Bulgarian political scientist and IWM Permanent Fellow Ivan Krastev, a leading expert on contemporary Europe and frequent contributor to the New York Times. Orbán’s Hungary, an example in point, is an illiberal monster created from elements of Western liberal democracies. And the right-wing shift in many other Central and Eastern European countries can be read as a revolt against the “imitation imperative”. In a conversation with Der Standard’s Eric Frey , Krastev elaborates on this central theme, which is also the topic of his forthcoming book. Further information: www.iwm.at