Hungarian Democracy: The Gradual Decline of Democratic Norms

On April 3rd, 2022, Hungary held elections for the National Assembly and for the prime minister. The nation’s incumbent leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, declared victory1. Widely seen as a populist leader, Orban has made significant changes to the country’s...

Your Political Beliefs May Be Programmed

We’ve all seen it – fake social media accounts blasting blatant disinformation and propaganda. Your uncle Bill retweets them and your cousin Sally shares their links on Facebook, but they don’t know any better, right? Surely you, a savvy consumer of social media, can...

Autocratic Regimes: The Importance of Free Media During War

Now that Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, it is difficult to argue with the reality that Russia should now be considered a fully autocratic regime. Putin has shown that he is okay with disregarding long-standing international norms by...

Belarus and Media Censorship: How Far Will Lukashenko Go?

Belarus is a shockingly young country, having gained its independence in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union. Censorship is not a new phenomenon within the country, but it appears to be growing more extreme and restrictive by the year. With the recent start of...