💡 New event video 🎙️Batuhan Eren (Scuola Normale Superiore), @caterinafr.bsky.social @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social, Sylvia Kritzinger (Uni Vienna) & @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social @gmfus.bsky.social explores how illiberal actors shape politics in Austria, Italy & France 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-42...

The Rise of Illiberal Challengers in Western Europe

YouTube video by AUTHLIB

youtube.com

🎥 Event video online How are illiberal actors shrinking democratic space in the EU—and what responses are possible? Watch our panel on media freedom, civil society & gender equality w/ @ksimon.bsky.social @danielhegedus.bsky.social & Mila Moshelova. 👉 Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvqL...

European Responses to the Shrinking Spaces of Democracy

YouTube video by AUTHLIB

youtube.com

Several fascinating talks on the crisis of liberal democracy

AUTHLIB@authlibeu.bsky.social · 6mo ago

📽️ Have you missed our concluding conference mapping the illiberal challenge to liberal democracy in Europe held at the Central European University @weareceu.bsky.social earlier this month? ☝️ Worry not!

📽️ Have you missed our concluding conference mapping the illiberal challenge to liberal democracy in Europe held at the Central European University @weareceu.bsky.social earlier this month? ☝️ Worry not!

📢 AUTHLIB webinar How do illiberals challenge democracy in Austria, Italy & France? 🗓️ Jan 26 |🕒 10:00 CET 🎙️Batuhan Eren (Scuola Normale Superiore), @caterinafr.bsky.social @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social, Sylvia Kritzinger (Uni Vienna) & @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social @gmfus.bsky.social 👉 t.ly/DdE4e

The Rise of Illiberal Challengers in Western Europe: Austria, Italy, and France in Comparative Perspective

How do illiberal parties affect democracy in Western Europe? Join our discussion on January 26 (Monday) at 10:00 a.m. CET.

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📢 How do illiberal actors shrink democratic space in the EU—and what can be done? Join our @authlibeu.bsky.social panel discussion on media freedom, civil society & gender equality with Mila Moshelova, Konrad Bleyer-Simon & Zsuzsanna Vegh 📅 Jan 20, 2026 15:00 CET RSVP www.authlib.eu/shrinking-sp...

European Responses to the Shrinking Spaces of Democracy

How to counter illiberal attacks on civil society, media and human rights? Join our discussion on January 20 (Tuesday) at 3:00 p.m. CET.

authlib.eu

📣 𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: European Responses to the Shrinking Spaces of Democracy 🗓️ Tuesday, 20 January 2026 ⏰ 09:00–10:30 ET / 15:00–16:30 CET 📍Online 🔗 Register here: www.gmfus.org/event/europe...

📢 How do illiberal actors shrink democratic space in the EU—and what can be done? Join our discussion on media freedom, civil society & gender equality with @ksimon.bsky.social @danielhegedus.bsky.social & Mila Moshelova 🗓️ Jan 20, 2026 | 🕒 15:00 CET 👉 Register: www.authlib.eu/shrinking-sp...

European Responses to the Shrinking Spaces of Democracy

How to counter illiberal attacks on civil society, media and human rights? Join our discussion on January 20 (Tuesday) at 3:00 p.m. CET.

authlib.eu

💥 New AUTHLIB Blog How do terror attacks reshape political debate? Elena Cossu @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social shows how attacks in France pushed mainstream parties closer to far-right positions on multiculturalism. Read more 👉 www.authlib.eu/how-terror-a...

How Terror Attacks Pushed French Politics Closer to the Far Right

Elena Cossu (Sciences Po) shows how terror attacks shaped the political sphere in their aftermath in France.

authlib.eu

It was a great pleasure to speak at the “Mapping the Illiberal Challenge” closing conference of @authlibeu.bsky.social at the CEU. Presenting the key arguments and recommendations of my upcoming policy paper, “How to Better Protect and Support Civil Society in the EU?”, I argued for: THREAD 1/5

The final @authlibeu.bsky.social conference organized by amazing colleagues in Budapest. A project that meant a lot to me - it enabled me to study radical and extremist groups in CEE, while also further developing our team's research agenda on democratic innovations.

A great closing conference of the AUTHLIB @authlibeu.bsky.social at CEU in Budapest - thanks to all. The organizers and participants!

AUTHLIB@authlibeu.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🗣️ AUTHLIB has explored the discourse of illiberal actors and the role of emotions in political communication. 📄 Carsten Q. Schneider @cqschneider.bsky.social @weareceu.bsky.social discussed if and how political leaders’ public speech can act as an early warning signal of democratic decline.

🙏 And it's a wrap! We have concluded our final academic conference with a keynote speech by Michael Ignatieff @weareceu.bsky.social 🔥 What's the role of liberalism in an illiberal age? Michael Ignatieff argued that democratic leadership & European unity serve as hope for the survival of democracy.

😱 Emotions play a central role in political communication and are used by political actors to mobilize. 🧐 AUTHLIB's team at the Oxford Uni, led by Stephen Whitefield, who presented the results of the team's lab experiments, studied the effects of emotional appeal on illiberal beliefs and behavior.

❗ Illiberal forces impact policies and institutions. AUTHLIB studied their influence across various policy areas. 🔥 Mieke Verloo (Radboud University) analyzed how illiberals influence knowledge production and research in service of their authoritarian agenda creating a mutually reinforcing cycle.

💡 Moving from theory to practice, AUTHLIB put forward recommendations to counter illiberal chalenges to democracy and strengthen liberal democracy in Europe.

💥The second day of our concluding conference started with a timely discussion on the transnationalization of the far right.

🗣️ AUTHLIB has explored the discourse of illiberal actors and the role of emotions in political communication. 📄 Carsten Q. Schneider @cqschneider.bsky.social @weareceu.bsky.social discussed if and how political leaders’ public speech can act as an early warning signal of democratic decline.

📊 AUTHLIB has extensively studied voters' attitude to explore the societal base of illiberalism and their support for democracy. The presentations at our concluding conference show the many issues that can be studied through the data collected in the AUTHLIB project.

💥Our panel on parties and illiberalism did not only showcase the variety of illiberalism in Europe but also the variety of methods used by the AUTHLIB team. 📊 @jrovny.bsky.social @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social showed the varieties of parties' illiberalism through the Chapel Hill Expert Survey.

⚖️ Our second discussion explored liberal norms underpinning democracy, their defense, and the difficulties in re-establishing the rule of law. 💭 @profmarlenewind.bsky.social (Uni Copenhagen) discussed if we see a renaissance of political constitutionalism and drew attention to attacks on courts.

🔖 We kicked off the day with AUTHLIB's consortium head, Zsolt Enyedi @zsolt.bsky.social @weareceu.bsky.social introducing the research focus of the project & @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social @gmfus.bsky.social highlighting some of the main achivements of the past 3.5 years.

💥 Our two-day concluding conference is already underway at the Central European University @weareceu.bsky.social! If you are in Budapest, come by today and tomorrow to learn about illiberalism in Europe from all the excellent scholars of Authlib and join our discussion!

📣 AUTHLIB Final Conference - Coming up this week! 🗺️ Mapping the Illiberal Challenge: Patterns, Drivers, Consequences 📅 Jan 8–9, 2026 📍 @weareceu.bsky.social, Budapest Two days on illiberalism, democracy & democratic responses. ✅ Register TODAY: www.authlib.eu/authlib-fina...

If you are in Budapest next week, don't miss our concluding conference! Register by January 4 and join us!

AUTHLIB@authlibeu.bsky.social · 8mo ago

📣 AUTHLIB Final Conference 🗺️ Mapping the Illiberal Challenge: Patterns, Drivers, Consequences 📅 Jan 8–9, 2026 📍 @weareceu.bsky.social, Budapest Two days on illiberalism, democracy & democratic responses. 👉 Register today to secure your spot: www.authlib.eu/authlib-fina...

‼️ Register by January 4 ⤵️

AUTHLIB@authlibeu.bsky.social · 8mo ago

📣 AUTHLIB Final Conference 🗺️ Mapping the Illiberal Challenge: Patterns, Drivers, Consequences 📅 Jan 8–9, 2026 📍 @weareceu.bsky.social, Budapest Two days on illiberalism, democracy & democratic responses. 👉 Register today to secure your spot: www.authlib.eu/authlib-fina...

💡New on the AUTHLIB Blog Europe is torn between shock, indignation, and complacency regarding the US National Security Strategy, writes @danielhegedus.bsky.social @gmfus.bsky.social. Instead, it should prepare to counter the threats it may pose to the EU. 💭 Read now: www.authlib.eu/the-blueprin...

The Blueprint to Kill the EU: Complacency About the Trump-Threat to Europe Would Be Fatal

Dimitar Keranov (GMF) explains how the rise of the far-right party, institutional paralysis, and state capture threaten Bulgaria’s democratic path.

authlib.eu

🗳️ AUTHLIB Publication What happens when far-right parties govern? 👉 @franziskawagner.bsky.social & @yavuzmehmet.bsky.social @weareceu.bsky.social & @schaferd.bsky.social @msstate.bsky.social @ceudeminst.bsky.social show they pull mainstream parties rightward w/out lasting moderation 📖 t.ly/W2N9N

Opposition to Government and Back: How Illiberal Parties Shape Immigration Discourse and Party Competition | Article | Politics and Governance

Franziska Wagner, Dean Schafer, Mehmet Yavuz

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💭 AUTHLIB Publication How do terror attacks reshape political discourse? Analyzing 143k+ tweets in France, Elena Cossu & @caterinafr.bsky.social @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social show how mainstream parties shift rightward on multiculturalism—normalizing illiberal frames. Open access 👉 t.ly/uhA-Y

How Terror Attacks Shape Political Agendas on Multiculturalism in France | Article | Politics and Governance

Elena Cossu, Caterina Froio

t.ly