Modern Authoritarianism Abroad: What Hungary, Turkey, and India Teach Us
Modern authoritarianism doesn’t rise in secret. It happens in plain sight.
Democracies across the globe have voted themselves into crisis—choosing strongmen who promise to restore pride, clean up corruption, or defend tradition. What follows is a pattern: leaders consolidate power, weaken oversight, attack critics, and change the rules to stay in control.
If it feels like what’s happening in the U.S. is unprecedented, it’s not. It’s familiar.
Today, we’re looking at three countries—Hungary, Turkey, and India—where democracies were dismantled not with a coup, but with applause.
Modern authoritarianism doesn’t rise in secret. It happens in plain sight.
Democracies across the globe have voted themselves into crisis—choosing strongmen who promise to restore pride, clean up corruption, or defend tradition. What follows is a pattern: leaders consolidate power, weaken oversight, attack critics, and change the rules to stay in control.
If it feels like what’s happening in the U.S. is unprecedented, it’s not. It’s familiar.
Today, we’re looking at three countries—Hungary, Turkey, and India—where democracies were dismantled not with a coup, but with applause.
Hungary: The Blueprint for Democratic Backsliding
In 2010, Viktor Orbán returned to power in Hungary with a supermajority and a message: Hungary would be “illiberal”—a democracy in name, but not in substance.
He moved fast.
Rewrote the constitution to cement Fidesz party dominance
Packed the courts with loyalists and curtailed judicial review
Cracked down on independent media, cutting off funding and licensing to critical outlets
Demonized immigrants and minorities as threats to “Christian civilization”
Redrew electoral districts and changed voting laws to ensure continued power
Orbán didn’t hide it—he called it a new model of governance. Other leaders took notes.
Turkey: Purges and Presidential Power
Turkey’s slide began earlier, but accelerated dramatically after a failed coup attempt in 2016. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used the crisis to declare a state of emergency, giving himself sweeping powers.
What followed:
Over 100,000 civil servants, teachers, and judges were purged
Thousands of journalists and academics were arrested
Media outlets were shut down or bought by government allies
The constitution was rewritten via referendum to expand presidential powers and eliminate checks
Elections were increasingly tilted, with opposition voices silenced or criminalized
Turkey still holds elections—but they’re no longer free or fair in any meaningful way.
India: Majoritarian Nationalism and Institutional Erosion
India, the world’s largest democracy, has seen democratic backsliding under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. Unlike the other two, India remains more pluralistic—but the warning signs are mounting.
Modi’s government has:
Used religious nationalism to target minorities, particularly Muslims
Pressured media and journalists, including through arrests and tax raids
Weakened the independence of courts and electoral bodies
Silenced dissent using sedition and anti-terrorism laws
Created a chilling effect where open criticism of the government can lead to harassment, job loss, or imprisonment
The danger in India isn’t a dictatorship tomorrow—it’s the normalization of authoritarian tactics.
Why These Cases Matter
None of these countries became authoritarian overnight.
All of them held elections. All of them had constitutions.
And in each case, democracy was eroded step by step—through legal means, aided by fear, distraction, and public fatigue.
These examples matter because they show how democracy dies with a legal pad, not a gun.And they offer a chilling preview of what can happen when institutions are too weak—or too captured—to resist.
The Authoritarian International: CPAC and the New Global Right
These aren’t isolated cases. What we’re seeing isn’t just a coincidence—it’s a shared strategy.
Over the last few years, global right-wing movements have begun to collaborate openly, and CPAC—the Conservative Political Action Conference—has become their meeting ground. Originally a U.S. political event, CPAC has expanded internationally, hosting gatherings in Hungary, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and elsewhere, inviting authoritarian-aligned leaders to share their vision.
Viktor Orbán has been featured as a keynote speaker at CPAC, where he laid out his model of “illiberal democracy” and called for international cooperation among nationalists. In his speech, Orbán stated: “We must take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We must find friends and allies in one another and coordinate the movement of our troops.”
Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, who sought to overturn his own election loss, has appeared at CPAC and continues to enjoy MAGA support.
American conservatives, including GOP lawmakers and MAGA-aligned figures, have praised these leaders, echoed their talking points, and adopted their tactics—on immigration, press suppression, election integrity rhetoric, and more.
CPAC is no longer just a place to talk about tax cuts and gun rights—it’s become a hub for authoritarian ideologues to share tools, language, and strategy.
The MAGA movement isn’t just mimicking these regimes—it’s learning from them.
And in many cases, it’s helping export the model right back out to the world.
Coming Up: The Playbook Comes to America
Tomorrow, we’ll turn the lens back home.
The United States may have stronger institutions than Hungary or Turkey—but the same tactics are already being used here. And the guardrails are weaker than many Americans think.
Stay with the series. If you haven’t already, subscribe or share with someone who needs this context.
Modern Authoritarianism: How Democracies Die Step by Step
You don’t wake up one morning to find yourself in a dictatorship. That’s the oldest myth in the book.
In the modern world, authoritarianism doesn’t kick down the front door. It slips in quietly—through elections, headlines, executive orders, and court decisions. It looks like patriotism. It sounds like law and order. And by the time people realize what’s happening, it can be too late.
This week, in our Modern Authoritarianism series, we’re breaking down the Authoritarian Playbook—how democracies around the world have been slowly hollowed out from the inside, and how those same moves are unfolding here in the United States.
But before we talk about what’s happening, we need to talk about how it happens.
You don’t wake up one morning to find yourself in a dictatorship. That’s the oldest myth in the book.
In the modern world, authoritarianism doesn’t kick down the front door. It slips in quietly—through elections, headlines, executive orders, and court decisions. It looks like patriotism. It sounds like law and order. And by the time people realize what’s happening, it can be too late.
This week, in our Modern Authoritarianism series, we’re breaking down the Authoritarian Playbook—how democracies around the world have been slowly hollowed out from the inside, and how those same moves are unfolding here in the United States.
But before we talk about what’s happening, we need to talk about how it happens.
Authoritarianism in the 21st Century: A Different Kind of Coup
When people hear the word authoritarian, they picture tanks in the streets. Gulags. Military takeovers.
But the modern version is more subtle. It uses democratic systems to destroy democracy itself.
You vote for a strongman, and he promises to drain the swamp. He attacks the press, undermines the courts, and rewrites the rules. He tells you the other side is corrupt, dangerous, even treasonous. He wraps it all in flags and faith. And he does it all legally—at first.
This isn’t just theory. It’s happened in Hungary. Turkey. India. Brazil. Venezuela. In each case, the warning signs were there. In each case, the playbook worked.
The Seven-Step Playbook
Most authoritarian shifts follow a recognizable pattern—some faster, some slower, but the moves are shockingly consistent:
Discredit the press
Weaken the courts
Undermine elections
Target minorities and scapegoats
Centralize power and rewrite rules
Foster political violence
Use the law to punish dissent
This week, we’ll walk through how these steps have played out abroad—and how they’re playing out right now in America.
Why Authoritarianism Always Fails the People
It’s easy to think: Well, maybe a strongman would fix things. Maybe we need someone to clean house, get tough, take control. That’s how it always starts.
But authoritarian governments don’t fix corruption—they bury it.
They don’t bring order—they create fear.
And they don’t protect people like you—they protect themselves.
Here’s what actually happens when authoritarianism takes hold:
Corruption gets worse, not better.
Autocrats don’t drain the swamp—they fill it with loyalists. Bribery, nepotism, and abuse of power flourish behind closed doors with no independent press or courts to stop it.Instability increases.
Crackdowns at home spark unrest. Foreign allies become wary. Authoritarians often pick fights abroad to distract from problems at home, dragging nations into conflict or isolation.Wealth is siphoned upward.
The people at the top consolidate economic control. Oligarchs thrive. Ordinary citizens are left with fewer rights, fewer protections, and rising costs—while dissent becomes dangerous.Everyone becomes more vulnerable.
Once checks and balances are gone, no one is safe. Today’s “enemies” might be your neighbors. Tomorrow, they could come for you. Authoritarian power protects no one but itself.
These regimes promise strength—but they deliver fear. They sell simplicity—but real solutions require accountability. Every country that’s gone down this road has paid a steep price, often for generations.
Why This Matters Now
We’re no longer speculating about what might happen—we’re living it.
The United States has elected a man who openly praised dictators, vowed to jail his political enemies, and declared he would be a “dictator on day one.” Now in office again, he’s following through. From purging civil servants to politicizing federal agencies, the authoritarian playbook isn’t a warning anymore—it’s a reality.
We’ll explore exactly how in the coming days. But this isn’t just about one man.
It’s about a movement that wants to roll back rights, silence critics, and concentrate power. And it’s testing whether America’s institutions—our courts, our press, our elections—can hold the line.
History suggests we shouldn’t assume they will.
What You’ll Get This Week
This series isn’t about fear. It’s about clarity.
Each post in Modern Authoritarianism will focus on a specific part of the authoritarian playbook:
Day 2: What Hungary, Turkey, and India can teach us
Day 3: How the playbook is being used in the U.S.
Day 4: A step-by-step breakdown of the tactics
Day 5: What’s still resisting—and why it matters
Day 6: How other countries have fought back
Day 7: What you can do to help defend democracy
If You’re New Here
This blog exists to ask hard questions and explore real answers. I don’t do doom. I do history, systems, and how we fight for better.
If that sounds like your vibe, subscribe or share this series with someone who needs to see it.
Day 2 drops tomorrow.
Until then, keep your eyes open. That’s where resistance begins.