Illiberal Democracy

Under the incoming von der Leyen Commission, political will shall determine whether the core EU value of rule of law is protected.

The Hungarian opposition has finally managed to stand united against the governing party at the October municipal election. Two analysts consider risks and opportunities for challenging Viktor Orbán’s ‘hybrid regime’ and democratising the country.

Sociologist Karolina Wigura calls for a move from the pervasive politics of fear which has seen the rise of the far-right to a politics with a positive vision based on hope.

The long-overdue triggering of Article 7 is one of the EU’s last shots at saving rule of law in Hungary and across Europe.

An interview on the recent anti-corruption protests in Romania and where the country stands now over 10 years after its accession to the EU.

In Viktor Orbán’s self-styled illiberal democracy, power is maintained through patronage and cronyism built around public jobs and EU money.

With authoritarian populism on the rise, liberal democracy in Europe is facing an existential crisis. In this interview, Yascha Mounk, author of The People vs. Democracy, hashes out the conundrum facing democracies old and new.

Analysis of the run-up to the June 24 elections in Turkey in a media landscape plagued by repression of dissent, fake news, and suspicion from all sides.

Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz were delivered to victory by an unfair system, media manipulation, and attacking their enemies. Opposition failure made it too easy for them.

Populism is malleable and isn’t the problem. The xenophobic nationalism that underpins certain populist movements is what threatens democracy.