10 July 2026
Erfurt Shines
Last weekend I was in Erfurt, the place where the authoritarian-populist AfD party held its annual federal convention. On Saturday I got up at the crack of dawn to help block the AfD delegates from reaching the assembly hall. Was I supposed to do that? As managing director of a legal-scholarly discourse platform should I not have remained neutral? The demand to forbid oneself from discriminating between non-banned parties loyal to the constitution and non-banned parties hostile to it is questionable not only insofar as it is addressed to democratic civil society, but also and especially insofar as it is addressed to scholarship. Continue reading >>
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29 June 2026
On Red (Funding) Lines
One of the conceptually most significant innovations by the Court of Justice in Commission v. Hungary is its invocation of European society as a normative referent of the EU legal order, and the characterisation of that society through pluralism. This conceptual step has consequences that reach well beyond the judgement. I argue that it could place the Court on a potential collision course with the European Commission’s recent proposal to explicitly link EU civil society funding to compliance with the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU. Continue reading >>
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16 June 2026
Rewiring Democracy After Orbán
Hungary’s democratic renewal cannot succeed through constitutional restoration alone. The durability of the Orbán regime stemmed not only from formal institutional capture, but from deeply embedded informal power throughout society. Rebuilding democracy therefore needs more than legal repair: it requires institutionalized participation, decentralized power, and directly embedded civil society into governance. Thus, transitional justice cannot be reduced to constitutional restoration or elite replacement. It must also address the underlying social logic of authoritarian governance. Continue reading >>
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12 June 2026
Rebuilding Hungary’s Civic Space
Hungary’s April 2026 elections that ended 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s autocratic rule have rightly generated urgent debate about constitutional repair. Beyond rebuilding the rule of law and democratic institutions, a successful transition will also need an engaged citizenry who value and trust these institutions and are eager to participate in public life. The transition therefore presents a critical opportunity to rebuild the legal, policy, and financial frameworks needed for an independent civil society to flourish. Achieving this requires a coherent package of legislative, institutional, and financial measures. Continue reading >>
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24 July 2025
The Great Recall Movement
Confronted with lawmakers they themselves elected just eighteen months ago, Taiwanese citizens have creatively repurposed the antiquated mechanism of "recall" as a last-resort check on a runaway legislature. Sparked by a year of legislative overreach and erosion of constitutional checks, this unprecedented campaign reflects Taiwan's spirit of civic constitutionalism, and its determination to defend its democratic institutions. Continue reading >>
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12 July 2025
The NGO’s Guide to Authoritarianism
It appears that whenever expert civil society organizations release a legal analysis of draft laws that restrict fundamental rights and freedoms, authoritarian governments learn from their mistakes and avoid them in the next round. One could witness such a situation when the Foreign Agents Registration Bill was introduced in the Slovak parliament last spring, and the public watchdog and advocacy organization VIA IURIS tried to stand against this legislation. In one year, the Slovak parliament considered three versions of the Bill, with each version making it more challenging to fight in court. Continue reading >>
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03 June 2025
Trump’s Threat to Nonprofits
The administration of President Trump is threatening nonprofits with the loss of tax-exempt status in an attempt to force them to conform their activities to policies favored by that administration. The threats are based on shaky legal grounds, and nonprofits have both constitutional and statutory bases for countering them. Nevertheless, these threats are significant, especially when combined with the administration’s efforts to cut government funding for many programs operated by nonprofits. And at the same time, the U.S. Congress is considering reducing the benefits of tax-exempt status in many ways, primarily to help pay for tax cuts benefitting wealthy individuals and corporations. Continue reading >>
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27 May 2025
Georgia’s Foreign Agent Law 2.0
Tolga Şirin recently argued for activating interim measures under Rule 39 of the European Court of Human Rights in cases of political prosecution, such as that of Istanbul’s mayor İmamoğlu. This argument gains renewed urgency in light of Georgia’s proposed foreign agent law. Indeed, as civil society organizations (CSOs) face the threat of criminal sanctions under “Foreign Agent Law 2.0”, Rule 39 could become their last remaining remedy. Continue reading >>
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17 February 2025