On the Wings of Russian Propaganda: Slovakia and the Decline of Democracy in Central Europe

On this episode, Slovakian politician and academic Martin Klus talks with us during a trip to Texas about the state of the Slovak Republic following the recent elections favoring a more Moscow-friendly government. Slovakia's move towards the pro-Russia camp in which Victor Orban's Hungary sits will make things difficult for its eastern neighbor Ukraine and easier for Putin in the European space. Per statistics that Dr. Klus cited as a fellow at the Bratislava-based think tank GLOBSEC, 55% of Slovakians believe that the war in Ukraine was started by an actor other than Russia, which is a direct effect of Russian propaganda through social media platforms, in particular TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The European Commission introduced the Digital Service Act which Dr. Klus hopes will help to mitigate the negative effects of free speech for trolls and hate speech-propagating bots. Thanks for listening! Related episodes: "Milan Rastislav Štefánik: The Slovak National Hero and Co-Founder of Czechoslovakia" https://www.slavxradio.com/stefanik ABOUT THE GUEST Martin Klus is a Slovak political scientist and theorist. Prior to entering Slovak politics and since leaving office recently, he worked as university lecturer and political analyst, providing political analyses and commentaries for renowned domestic and foreign media. Dr. Klus holds a PhD in Theory of Politics and an MBA. He entered communal politics in Banská Bystrica in 2014. Between the years 2016 and 2020 he was a Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Vice Chairman of the NCSR EU Affairs Committee and member of the NCSR Foreign Affairs Committee, even the NCSR Deputy Speaker during last six months of his tenure. He held the position of Vice Chairman of the NATO PA Subcommittee on NATO Partnership, as the first Slovak appointee in such position. In March 2020, he served as the State Secretary for EU affairs at the Slovak MFEA as both the GAC minister and the Sherpa to the Prime Minister. Besides EU Affairs, his contemporary agenda and research consists of Disinformation and Hybrid Threats, Human Rights, Crisis Management and Consular Affairs. He is now returning to academia, to resume his post as associate professor at the Higher School of Economics and Management in Bratislava, Slovakia. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 19, 2023 in Austin, Texas. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Host/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp Production Assistant: Faith VanVleet Production Assistant: Eliza Fisher Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) - Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Eme Hache, Joey Hendrixx. Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. Special Guest: Martin Klus.