Budapest Forum 2026 – Cities Under Pressure: Municipal Resilience in an Age of Overlapping Crises

The sixth edition of the Budapest Forum, the joint event organized by the CEU Democracy Institute, the Municipality of Budapest, and Political Capital Institute focused this year on the dynamics of democratic renewal after illiberalism, the changing global security environment, and Europe’s challenging political future.

Panel discussion: Cities Under Pressure: Municipal Resilience in an Age of Overlapping Crises

Speakers

• Thomas O. Melia, Senior Fellow, Georgetown University, Former Assistant Secretary of State
• Kata Tüttő, President of the Committee of the Regions
• Moderator: Edit Inotai, Senior Fellow, Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy

Main takeaways

• Cities are not only service providers, but important pillars of democratic resilience. They translate national and European goals into everyday policies and can preserve democratic practices when politics at the national level becomes more polarized or centralized.
• Local democracy is a practical school of compromise. Tüttő argued that democratic “muscles” need to be exercised, and municipalities are places where negotiation, responsibility and compromise remain unavoidable parts of governing.
• Municipal resilience requires resources and room for maneuver. Cities need sufficient funding and autonomy to deliver services, experiment with solutions and respond to different local realities.
• The speed of social and technological change is itself a political challenge. When citizens feel they are constantly adapting without gaining greater security or control, they may become more receptive to political promises of slowing or reversing change.
• Rebuilding democracy is a long-term social process. Beyond restoring institutions, democratic recovery requires civic responsibility, participation, dialogue across political divisions and strong local communities.

Explore all the panel discussions from Budapest Forum 2026 here.