Analysis
Economy & Tech
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Production Surge: Impacts on Russia and European Energy Security
6 December 2024
The tools of militant democracy are being used by illiberal powers to undermine the institutions they were created to protect.
In Central and Eastern Europe, authoritarian and populist forces are on the rise. This has led many to argue that, today, democracy is in crisis.
We are told to look no further than Poland and Hungary to observe the current political reality, which serves as examples of what happens when democracies backslide into authoritarianism: the curtailment of civil and political liberties; the exploitation of their authority to undermine constitutional constraints; the application of measures that restrict (or exclude) political oppositional forces.
We are told that democracy should be defended against such threats to its existence. That we cannot stand idly by as we backslide into authoritarianism. But what does it mean for a democratic state to defend itself? What is considered a threat, and what mechanism or process could be used to combat such threats?