The Return of the Visegrad Four (V4)

https://apnews.com/article/central-european-leaders-meet-hungary-visegrad-summit-f0171d43c8aa5fbd2f285e42dffae190

This certainly caught my eye. The Visegrad Four (V4) has been basically dead since 2022 and the Ukraine War. The bloc comprised of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia represented a semi-dissident group within the EU. It was receiving particular notice during the years when Orban ruled Hungary, and the PiS was in charge of Poland.

Ukraine and Tensions Within the V4

https://www.politico.eu/article/moment-of-truth-for-polish-hungarian-toxic-relationship-approaches/

As regular readers will know, I have been keen for some time to follow the Visegrad Four or V4 group, a faction within the EU. The loose alliance came together as three nations in the early 1990's, and then became four with the Czech-Slovak split. All four nations joined the EU in 2004 – certainly with some mixed feelings. While the four countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) have never been fully unified, the bloc was established to preserve common interests among these nations of Central (and once 'Eastern') Europe.

Polish Militarism on the Rise

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53034930

Was it a mistake or was it a case of flirting with irrendentism? Silesia, the industrial heartland mostly associated with Poland has faced its share of historical traumas. Wrested from the Habsburgs by Prussian ruler Frederick the Great in the 18^th century, the region was contested up through the world wars and saw the death marches flowing out of nearby Auschwitz in 1945.

Most of the region was restored to Poland after 1945 but there remained a small section within Czechoslovakia or today's Czech Republic.

Buying Czech Loyalty: Rewarding the V4

https://thedefensepost.com/2019/11/12/czech-republic-purchase-uh-1y-ah-1z-helicopters-textron/

It is with veritable glee that the American and European publics mark the thirty year anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. And yet military contractors perhaps find a greater reason to rejoice in marking the nearly 29 years since the Warsaw Pact collapsed. After almost three decades it can be safely said that most former Eastern Bloc hardware is becoming obsolete.

The V4, Likud, Aachen and Atlanticism: New Blocs, New Structures

http://www.praguemonitor.com/2019/02/18/babi%C5%A1-travel-israel-joint-v4-summit

https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-discusses-v4-israel-summit-security-cooperation-with-netanyahu/

These events are already old news in terms of the high-tempo news cycle but they passed without proper reflection.

To start with, the V4 countries are often spoken of in relation to anti-Semitism. Far Right parties and politics are active in the V4 and thus it seems strange to many that they would meet in Israel.

V4: The Visegrad Group and its Place in Central European Geopolitics

https://www.euractiv.com/section/central-europe/news/china-hosts-visegrad-group-calls-them-dynamic-force-in-eu/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42868599

Have you ever heard of the Visegrad Group or as it sometimes called the V4?

It's not a new concept but the framework is starting to get a little more attention in the international media. Knowing about it will prove helpful to those trying to understand the dynamic at work between these nations of Central Europe and power centres like Brussels, Washington and Moscow.

Viktor Orban's recent victory in the Hungarian presidential election and further focus on Poland will necessarily drive commentators and analysts to address why some of these former Warsaw Pact members are charting a course that is increasingly hostile to Brussels.

One way of understanding the posture of both Poland and Hungary is to view them through the lens of Visegrad, a group formed in 1991 with Czechoslovakia. It's named after Visegrad Castle where a famous congress took place in 1335 in which the monarchs of Poland, Hungary and Bohemia formed an anti-Habsburg alliance.