This Friday, I'll be speaking at the symposium "Make Illiberalism Great Again" in Regensburg, exploring how a small state punches far above its weight globally. Organized by @sonjapriebus.bsky.social & @sudosteuropa.bsky.social, I'm glad to join @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social and Ivana Ranković. 1/6

Join us next week for a symposium on how the Hungarian government has been actively seeking to transnationalize its political project and position itself as a reference point for like-minded forces in Europe and beyond. Registration to participate in Regensburg or online: sogde.org/de/events/sy...

Welcome, new followers! And a particular groetjes to the Dutch wave; not entirely sure how I landed in your corner of Bluesky, but I'm glad to see the engagement. I write about political economy, illiberalism, the lived experiences of economic shocks, and how to save democracy from the polycrisis.

I have a new, open-access paper out in the European Journal of Sociology: “Commodification and Social Reproduction: Theory and Mixed-Method Evidence on the Effect of Privatization on Childbearing.” After a long journey, it’s finally published online. 1/10 👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...

An interview with me about why liberal #democracies keep producing their own gravediggers is now out on @mediapart.fr, France's leading independent investigative outlet. #Illiberalism is a political reaction to the crisis of liberal #globalism. Details in French: blogs.mediapart.fr/edition/chro...

The US under Trump's second term is experiencing the steepest democratic backsliding in contemporary history, outpacing Russia, Turkey, and Hungary. But there's hope, too. Burn-Murdoch is probably the best data journalist today. His latest @financialtimes.com analysis is essential reading. 1/7

The rules-based international order was never truly universal, was upheld selectively, and attacked cynically even in its strongest days in the 1990s. But at least it functioned as a rhetorical anchor and a moral ambition. Not anymore. 1/7

It's Trump policy that U.S. tech must be globally dominant. It's also US policy that its tech corps must be free from: Regulation. Taxation. Fact checking and monitoring for hate lies, disinformation. All are now being treated as attacks on the U.S. itself. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

I was happy to talk the Boston-based MassLive for this article on what the U.S. can learn from Hungary’s crackdown on highered. The transatlantic convergence of the far right, even if important differences remain, should worry anyone who takes universities, pluralism, and democracy seriously. 1/7

When people feel unseen or powerless, authoritarianism grows. 2025 CFK Global Fellows @gscheiring.bsky.social, Koketso Moeti, and Chris Muriithi, explain why addressing fear, inequality, and exclusion is central to defending democracy.

I have a cellular-level disrespect of disciplinary silos, so it was a pleasure to contribute a reflection piece to Current Anthropology, one of the field’s most prestigious generalist journals. The kind of cross-disciplinary conversation we need to have to better understand antiliberal politics.

Grumpy opinion: Too many young development economists are working on behavioral econ questions that are unimportant for development. The topics are amenable to small experiments that can nail mechanisms and demonstrate smarts via a clever design. The profession over-rewards those attributes.

FDR showed us democracy could deliver—restoring trust and creating security for all. We need a bold vision like FDR's that encompasses modern challenges to similarly prioritize security and shared prosperity. rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/w...

We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com. We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans. washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

I have a new opinion article up at @aljazeera.com and I am looking forward to your reactions. It brings together several strands of my research and public engagement. I reflect on US Hungary Russia relations, dependence, and the increasingly bizarre geopolitical theatre we all end up watching. 1/5

I had the chance to join Your Call, the San Francisco based public affairs radio show on 91.7 FM KALW, for a conversation about what the U.S. can learn from Hungary’s slide into electoral autocracy. It was a real pleasure to do this together with one of Hungary’s finest journalists. 1/4

Check out my latest article: Viktor #Orbán met #Trump in DC this weekend and left with a one-year exemption from #sanctions on #Russian oil and gas imports: a short-term political win that exposes his long-term #dependence, revealing the costs of #illiberalism. www.linkedin.com/pulse/price-...

Zohran Mamdani will be the 111th mayor of New York City. He represents everyday people who struggle to pay rent and bills, let alone save or get ahead. Yes, you can build affordable cities. Vienna did it a hundred years ago, and there is no reason we cannot do it again today. 1/4

Our #DemocracyAroundTheGlobe team is in Athens this week sponsoring and attending the 2025 Athens Democracy Forum!

This is such a small world. I’ve just spent a day in Hungary discussing #illiberalism and woke up to this Jimmy #Kimmel story. Trump & co. don’t need direct lessons from Hungary—some of their moves are already beyond #Orbán in radicalism. 1/8

I look forward to joining this illustrious panel at the Budapest Forum on the causes of the #populist surge, kicked off by a keynote from Ivan Krastev, one of Europe’s foremost experts on #democracy. September 17, 13:45-15:00, Budapest, Nádor street 15. Program: budapestforum.org/understandin...

Work with us at Georgetown Qatar! We have 3 active open-rank searches across a broad range of topics and regional specializations in international & comparative politics. Ambitious and engaged students from around the world, 2-2 teaching load, generous research support. 👉 apply.interfolio.com/172432

A superb analysis @jacobinmag.bsky.social on why the Democrats are so weak against Trump: "Their weakness is the result of a decades-long hollowing out of the party, in which organized labor has been displaced by a panoply of interest groups and nonprofit organizations." jacobin.com/2025/08/demo...

Poverty obstructs economic recovery. 16m Britons live in poverty 800,000 suffer from nutritional deficiencies. 1-in-200 households experiencing homelessness 1-in-4 young people have mental health conditions. Scurvy/Rickets are back. £39bn GDP a year lost due to poverty. Must redistribute.

I had a great conversation with Kai Schnier on his Un-American podcast about the causes and consequences of illiberalism and what Orbán’s Hungary can teach us about Trump’s second term. You can listen to the episode here: lnkd.in/dipXeevK #populism #democracy #Trump #Orban #illiberalism #polisky

"These are the proverbial adults in the room. They had the power to create friction for fascism. They have instead created a glide-path."

In this TIME magazine piece about the potential consequences of famine in #Gaza, SHP's Ruth Gibson notes effects of starvation can persist long after people regain access to food. “What we can’t see is the generational and intergenerational impacts."

So here's what @gscheiring.bsky.social told me. "Most of Orban's tactical weapons to take over the media resemble the moves that led to Colbert's cancellation," he said:

The Paramount-Skydance saga "reeks of Orbanism." That's the assessment of @gscheiring.bsky.social, who experienced Viktor Orbán's autocratic power plays in Hungary firsthand as a member of the Hungarian parliament. 🧵

It was an honor and a pleasure to discuss #authoritarian threats to #democracy with Steve Levitsky at the @kettering.org Democracy Conference this Monday in D.C. I'm grateful to the Kettering Foundation for making this global conversation possible. International #solidarity is the only way to go.

Glad to share my latest piece on the autocratic threat and why a lasting solution requires rethinking what democracy is. Democracy thrives when it includes. Out now on the Kettering Foundation blog, Resilience & Resistance. #Democracy #populism #illiberalism #polisky kettering.org/why-democrac...

Glad to share a symposium on my book "How the Radical Right Has Changed Capitalism and Welfare" with SER: academic.oup.com/ser/advance-.... Featuring @alexandreafonso.bsky.social, @vapunkt.bsky.social, @ankehassel.bsky.social, @danielk24.bsky.social, @gscheiring.bsky.social, & rejoinder by myself 👇

When the #ultra-rich and #corporations have huge sway in government decisions and are able to operate without accountability, #democracy deteriorates. In this power punch essay, @kettering.org Democracy Fellow Koketso Moeti explores the implications for South Africa. 👉 kettering.org/the-age-of-t...

The democratic socialist @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social has beaten Cuomo and is now the Democrats’ nominee for Mayor of NYC, de facto Mayor-Elect. Democrats and liberals serious about defeating illiberalism better pay attention. There is a model for organizing the majority and saving democracy. 1/7

"Europe’s leaders have internalized their own subordination. They betray international law not for tangible gains, but out of reflexive obedience, a habit that weakens Europe’s global standing while emboldening Washington’s and Jerusalem’s worst impulses." responsiblestatecraft.org/us-strikes-i...

BREAKING: 100+ orgs have signed onto a coalition comment that we drafted alongside @democracyforward.org‬ against the Schedule P/C reclassification that would strip protections for at least 50k federal workers. Read the coalition comment here: protdem.org/3FOlsWz Learn more here: protdem.org/3HH84Ee

We wrote about the US ruling class taking the reins to manage its own decline. What do the Trumpist factions of capital want? Can that be squared with the interests of the MAGA base? Capable state managers could potentially thread the needle, but that's all gone. With @cedricdurand.bsky.social.

llliberalism is back in Poland, retaining control over the presidency. This means trouble for the re-democratization of Poland & the global fight for democracy. We must fundamentally rethink what democracy means to beat illiberalism. We need a transformative, people-centered vision. Link in comment.

I was happy to contribute to this deep dive into how Orban's attack on higher education has inspired Trump's politics toward universities. Brought to you by @joshuacoe.bsky.social @theworld.org, a public radio program and podcast based in Boston. 👉 Read and listen: theworld.org/stories/2025...

In my new article I argue that Trump’s economic policies are unlikely to work but returning to economic liberalism won't resolve socioeconomic grievances either. Past efforts to maintain this flawed system at any cost backfired. We need a new global economic order. www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...

I’ve been writing about the politics and impact of Donald Trump on the US and world, with special attention to Europe and the University of Michigan, and most of it is free to read. This thread, in order, brings it all together. I hope it’s useful as a resource on the different issues.

My op-ed on the politics of trade war @al-jazeera-english.bsky.social: The challenge is clear: not only to critique Trump’s #illiberal policies but to present a bold, coherent vision of industrial renewal, ecological #sustainability, and #GlobalJustice. www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...

This is a must read @nytimes.com: In Romania, like elsewhere, behind the far right’s rise is economic insecurity. Yet far-right populists don't offer a truly different economic model, as they share an allegiance to the business class, just different parts of it. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/o...

A good analysis of the state of US economic hegemony in @nytimes.com. The US is repeating the hegemonic decline seen earlier in The Netherlands and England, becoming a society of rentier investors on the lookout for an easy privileged life instead of producing things. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/m...

I spoke with @al-jazeera-english.bsky.social about the legacy of the end of WWII, the crisis of #democracy and the rise of the radical #right in Europe, on the occasion of Victory Day, commemorated on May 8th or 9th depending on where you are. Watch the short report: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kTK...

Thrilled to join two panels at this big bang of a conference about the politics of capitalist transformations. 👉A paper w/ Ábel Csathó: "Unraveling Liberalisms: Hungarian Insights into American Illiberalism." 👉Another w a former student on unsustainable democracies in Tunisia and Hungary [1/5]

Must-read @poppublicsphere.bsky.social for folks working on populism: "Populist Radical Right Parties are most successful among classes facing a deterioration of their economic position within the social hierarchy. The magnitude of the association is substantial." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

High time for what colleagues have been advocating as a compact of mutual defense and a shared litigation strategy.

Authoritarian leaders know that controlling higher education means controlling the way people think, question, and understand the world around them. @gscheiring.bsky.social #TheContext