From a rostrum in the capital of Georgia, leading Slovak intellectual Michal Hvoreck\u00fd addresses a Europe-wide audience. As a novelist and essayist, Hvoreck\u00fd explores the fragility of democracy and the political fault lines of contemporary Central and Eastern Europe with irony, urgency and historical awareness. In his recent book Dissident, he turns to questions of resistance, civic courage and the meaning of dissent in an increasingly polarized Europe.<\/p>\n
Europe is for many \u2013 especially viewed from the supposed periphery \u2013 not merely a geopolitical actor, but a symbol of freedom, justice and dignity. At the same time, in light of the increasing distance to such an old and crucial partner as the U.S., the threat from Russia and the rise of a new and loud nationalism, Europe is faced with the task of redefining itself. Perhaps Georgia, which has been exposed to imperial threats for centuries and yet has always managed to start afresh, is a place from which Europe can reflect anew on its own path.<\/p>\n
One of Central Europe\u2019s most perceptive literary voices reflects on what Europe stands for \u2013 and on what will be required to defend it.<\/p>\n