National, and International, Struggles

Dalibor Roháč began life in Slovakia, or Czechoslovakia. He is now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, in Washington. His Ph.D. is in political economy. He says that his role is to explain Europe to Americans and, increasingly, America to Europeans.In our Q&A, we talk about the “old days”: Czechoslovakia, Havel, the “velvet divorce,” “lustration,” and so on. We also talk about the “new days,” or current days: Robert Fico, the prime minister in Slovakia; Viktor Orbán, the prime minister in Hungary; Andrej Babiš, the president in the Czech Republic. Which of these men likes Putin most?The Ukrainian struggle is, among other things, the great nationalist cause of this century. Ukrainians are fighting and dying to hang on to their country: its freedom, its independence. They are fighting to defend their very right to exist. Yet many people in the Free World who style themselves “nationalists” are sympathetic to Putin and hostile to Ukraine. How can this be?One can imagine an organization: “Nationalists for the Russian Empire” (or “Soviet Empire”).In any event, Mr. Roháč and I touch on this question. And at the end, I ask him to say a few words about the United States—how we are faring and what our prospects might be.For many years now, I have learned from this fellow. He has knowledge, wide and deep. And he has judgment—even nuance (dread word).As I mention in our podcast, he shares a name with an opera by Smetana: Dalibor, which is rarely seen or heard, but definitely worth knowing. I wrote about it a little in an article last September.Smetana aside, enjoy Dalibor Roháč.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe