The strongest version of this narrative is that Pappin represents a bridge between academic post-liberalism and real-world illiberal governance, with Hungary serving as a laboratory for policies that could reshape American conservatism. The article effectively traces how fringe ideas—monarchism, Christian integralism, rejection of liberal democracy—gain institutional power through networks like Orbán’s government and Trump’s inner circle. Pappin’s career arc, from Harvard provocateur to Hungaria...