On June 27, 2025, IVO experts Grigorij Mesežnikov and Miroslav Kollár, together with civic activist and organizer Csilla Droppová from the initiative Nie v našom meste (Not in Our City) (Banská Bystrica), discussed on the influence of foreign authoritarian forces on Slovak society, its democratic system and civilizational anchoring in the West with citizens of Nové Zámky in the Open Cultural Space Hollywood. They also discussed the activities of democratic forces and civil society aimed at neutralizing the aforementioned influence and strengthening the country's pro-Western orientation.
The event was organized by IVO in cooperation with the FORUM NZ Initiative as part of the IVO Road Show project "Experts to the People", supported by the Open Information Partnership (OIP). The discussion was moderated by Jozef Pirohár (FORUM NZ initiative). 50 citizens of Nové Zámky were present.
Grigorij Mesežnikov pointed out the current dynamics of development in the area of society's resilience against external threats, the state of political and value polarization of society and problems in strategic communication. He noted that in the last six months, the political scene in its government segment, through the efforts of individual party representatives, including the current Prime Minister, has been normalizing ideas that go beyond the framework of foreign policy priorities related to membership in the EU and NATO. IVO president argued that the introducing of "alternatives" such as Slovakia's withdrawal from the EU or the declaration of "neutrality" into the public discourse is fully consistent with the intentions of the current leadership of the Russian Federation – to weaken the EU and NATO, to undermine their unity and ability to act, and to provoke instability in the member states.
The resilience of society to external threats lies primarily in the ability of the population to stand up for the principles and values on which a modern democratic and free society is built, and at the same time in defending and supporting membership in groupings that create guarantees for the reproduction of the norms of democracy, freedom and prosperity. G. Mesežnikov reported on the current results of public opinion polls, which indicate that attempts to reverse the foreign policy orientation towards the East, closer to Russia, are encountering disapproval from citizens. Support for Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO and for a democratic political system has been strengthening recently. He also cited examples of toxic narratives that Russian propaganda and domestic actors of Russian influence are spreading in Slovakia.
Csilla Droppová focused on the role of civil society actors as a factor in the resilience of society and the country against threats to democracy and a pro-Western foreign policy course. She pointed out to successful experiences of resistance to pro-Russian radical nationalism and extremism at both the regional and national political levels. She also outlined the circumstances of the civil protests that spread across the country after the Prime Minister met with the Russian leader in Moscow at the end of 2024, while some politicians in the government coalition began to admit the possibility of Slovakia's withdrawal from the EU. It was at the protest rallies that citizens clearly spoke out in favor of strengthening Slovakia's ties with allies and partners in the EU and NATO, calling on the government to continue supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. Cs. Droppová mentioned the interdependence and conditionality of the development of democracy and civil society, emphasizing the role of civil society as an actor of the country's cohesion and its ability to withstand internal and external risks to democratic development and pro-Western orientation.
Miroslav Kollár presented an analysis of the state and basic trends in the development of Slovakia’s media scene in the context of society's resistance to Russian information and political influence. He demonstrated research data on the main sources of information for various groups of the population. He pointed out the socio-cultural and socio-demographic background of the efforts of the ruling parties to dominate the country's television scene or to influence it in a politically desirable way. In this context, the ability of pro-democratic forces and civil society actors to use the tools of targeted communication with citizens provided by modern information platforms (social networks, social media, chat groups, etc.) appears to be absolutely crucial. Such an ability can play the role of an important counterweight to the tendencies of politicization of the media environment in favor of pro-Russian actors.
Online platform watson.sk (Nové Zámky) and daily Új Szó reported about the event.
