Author Archive

Marietta van der Tol

Dr. Marietta van der Tol, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government, has taught PPE/ politics courses at several Oxford colleges. Her research focuses on the comparative study of politics and religion, particularly examining political theories related to space and othering. With an interdisciplinary background in history and law, Marietta explored expressions of tolerance and intolerance in contemporary constitutional law and politics in France, Germany and the Netherlands during her PhD at Cambridge. Her book Constitutional Intolerance: The Fashioning of the Other in Europe’s Constitutional Repertoires is forthcoming in 2024.

It was a matter of “religious freedom” – following a request from Serbia, Hungary’s veto on the sanctioning of Patriarch Kirill would have been expected. It was one of the interesting takeaways from of a few days spent in the company of pro-Fidesz politicians, pastors, and public intellectuals at the Tusványos summer festival. Gathered in the heart of Romania – home to a sizeable minority of ethnic Hungarians, about 6 per cent of the population – it struck me that Orbán’s story is not just a story of Hungary. It is a story of the region, of Europe, and of Hungary’s place in the world. A new story about Hungary When Orbán came to power for the second time in …