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Lili Török

Editor of the Rights Reporter Blog

Lili Török is an economist who focuses on emerging market economies. She has a Master’s degree in Political Economy from Central European University, and an MPA in Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis from Columbia University. She is the author of a thesis on the perceptions of the 1989 Transition among young people in Hungary. Born and raised in Budapest and Moscow, she lives in Astoria, New York

“Political Pressure is Often Exercised through Business Means” Interview with Investigative Journalists Blanka Zöldi and András Pethő

November 19, 2020 by Lili Török

Direkt36 is a Budapest-based investigative journalism center that follows the Pro Publica model of in-depth research and partnership-based distribution to maximize readership. They interpret accountability broadly; they believe in the responsibility to show the public how decisions are made, and to show who really holds the power. András Pethő co-founded Direkt36 with Gergely Sáling and Balázs […]

What Freedom-Loving Hungarians Expect from a Biden Presidency

November 1, 2020 by Lili Török

Joe Biden is favored to win the presidency in the upcoming U.S. elections. He has condemned the Hungarian prime minister and praised “freedom-loving Hungarians.” What would his presidency mean for pro-democracy activists in practice? We interviewed human rights leaders on the ground, who told us about their perceptions of U.S. foreign policy in Hungary, what changed during the Trump era, and what a good relationship with U.S. diplomacy means to them.

Why Hungary Is Threatening Europe’s Hard-Fought Coronavirus Recovery Fund An old development debate surfaces in the European Union.

September 7, 2020 by Lili Török

Hungary and Poland managed to delay a mechanism that would tie EU funding to rule-of-law conditions, but a future where the EU can penalize Hungary for antidemocratic behavior by withholding funding is closer than ever.

Index’s Freedom Fight Comes to an End. What’s Next? The Top Hungarian News Site Broadcasts Its Independence Struggle

July 24, 2020 by Lili Török

Most of the editorial staff at Hungary’s largest online news site resigned today, after a decade-long struggle for the company’s independence. The way pro-government interests co-opted the company, slowly, and then all at once, is a textbook example of the way Fidesz has built its media empire over the years. The way the editorial staff stood their ground, and broadcast this struggle, is an important commentary on independent journalism and democratic backsliding. The question is: are Hungarians ready to pay to help them start over?

China Funds a Trip to Autocracy in Europe What happens when two authoritarian regimes partner to build railways in Europe?

June 29, 2020 by Lili Török

China needed to pass through Europe. Hungary needed to bypass it. Here is the story of the Hungarian-Chinese partnership to renovate the Budapest-Belgrade railway route.

Hungary’s Campaign to Centralize Power in the Crisis: the Details

June 17, 2020 by Lili Török

Faced with a dire economic outlook, the Orbán government undermined those best positioned to help — municipal governments.

Hungary Pilots Special Economic Zones and a New Strategy to Weaken Orban’s Opposition

June 3, 2020 by Lili Török

Nervous for a Samsung investment, the Orban administration used the COVID-19 pandemic to pass a decree and strip an opposition-led town of power and taxes.

A Guide to Orbán’s Power Grab Policies Why The Rest of the World Should Watch Hungary Right Now

May 21, 2020 by Lili Török

On March 31, the Hungarian parliament voted to grant extraordinary emergency powers to its government, enabling the Orbán administration to rule by decree, and to jail anyone accused of distorting the truth for up to five years. The law passed without a sunset clause — it will remain in effect until the end of the pandemic, which will be up to the government to decide. With this, Hungary became the first country where a government used the pandemic as an excuse to infinitely expand its powers. The specifics of how these powers are used are important, because Hungary has been a testing lab for post-truth authoritarian regimes for years. Here is a review of what happened since then.

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More from the Autocracy Analyst

“Political Pressure is Often Exercised through Business Means” Interview with Investigative Journalists Blanka Zöldi and András Pethő

November 19, 2020 By Lili Török

Direkt36 is a Budapest-based investigative journalism center that follows the Pro Publica model of in-depth research and partnership-based distribution to maximize readership. They interpret accountability broadly; they believe in the responsibility to show the public how decisions are made, and to show who really holds the power. András Pethő co-founded Direkt36 with Gergely Sáling and Balázs […]

What Freedom-Loving Hungarians Expect from a Biden Presidency

November 1, 2020 By Lili Török

Joe Biden is favored to win the presidency in the upcoming U.S. elections. He has condemned the Hungarian prime minister and praised “freedom-loving Hungarians.” What would his presidency mean for pro-democracy activists in practice? We interviewed human rights leaders on the ground, who told us about their perceptions of U.S. foreign policy in Hungary, what changed during the Trump era, and what a good relationship with U.S. diplomacy means to them.

David Takes on Goliath: The Struggle for Academic Freedom in Hungary

October 11, 2020 By Péter Sárosi

For a month now, hundreds of Hungarian students have occupied their campus and resist the government’s pressure to eliminate the autonomy of their university. Their fight attracted international attention and evoked support from broad ranges of society. In this article we try to put this story in the context and present you the challenges of resisting autocracy in a hybrid regime.

Hungarian Public Foundation Rejects NGO Application for EU Funding over Unlawful Foreign Agent Law

September 30, 2020 By Péter Sárosi

In June, the highest court in the European Union ruled that Hungary’s Foreign Agent Law requiring NGOs with foreign funding to self-identify and disclose their donors was unlawful. A few months later, a Hungarian public foundation operated by the government denied Power of Humanity Foundation, a human rights education NGO, EU funding over noncompliance with the same law. The NGO is asking the European Commission to investigate.

100 Years Ago, Hungary Adopted the First Racial Law in Europe

September 23, 2020 By Péter Sárosi

100 years ago, on 23 September 1920, the Hungarian parliament adopted the so-called Numerus Clausus Law, often dubbed the first racial, antisemitic law in Europe, long before the Nazi racial laws.

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