This article was written by IWP student Logan West.
Washington, as a world power, and Budapest, as a regional leader, need to behave accordingly by working toward shared goals and conducting themselves in a manner befitting their alliance.
If a snapshot of today’s dialogue between Hungary and the United States says anything about the relationship between these two countries, it’s that things are not on the right track. The current squabbling only benefits Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Budapest’s previous stalling of Sweden’s ascension to NATO over past comments about “democratic backsliding,” and the resulting delay of U.S. arms sales to Hungary, demonstrate the dangers of bad public dialogue. While Budapest is now poised to support Sweden’s membership, trouble between the United States and Hungary persists.