How coronavirus is boosting global authoritarianism
Hungary is the latest country to slide away from democracy as Viktor Orban is handed sweeping emergency powers

Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban has won a parliamentary vote allowing his government to rule by decree indefinitely in what critics claim is a further step towards a dictatorship.
Ministers voted by 137 to 53 on Monday to pass a bill that extends a national state of emergency declared in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Orban’s sweeping new powers include a permanent provision for anyone deemed to be spreading “fake news” to be imprisoned for up to five years, while those found to be breaching coronavirus lockdown measures face up to eight years in jail.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“The leader of the opposition Jobbik party, Peter Jakab, said that the law placed the whole of Hungarian democracy in quarantine,” reports the BBC.
But Orban, a controversial figure championed by the far-right, is far from the only world leader to take advantage of the global health crisis and consolidate power into the hands of the few. As The Times says: “Leaders in even proudly liberal western democracies have amassed powers that could scarcely have been imagined a few weeks ago.”
What has happened in other countries?
In a matter of weeks, up to a third of the world has been placed under lockdown measures. As Foreign Policy reports: “Soldiers manoeuvre military vehicles through city centres, police cars broadcast calls for citizens to disperse from public spaces, public announcements are made via drones – and all of it has become normal.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
But not all government measures have been implemented purely for the benefit of the public.
The Guardian reports that Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, has “stepped up the harassment of opposition groups”, while Israel’s beleaguered PM Benjamin Netanyahu used an “emergency decree to delay the start of his trial on corruption charges, marginalised parliament and moved to enact unprecedented surveillance measures”.
Furthermore, US President Donald Trump has begun to consider himself a “wartime president”, the paper adds.
The Times notes that journalists have been expelled or imprisoned for writing about the coronavirus outbreak in countries such as Egypt and Turkey.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
And the reaction?
Foreign Policy says that the “soaring death rate and rapid spread of the disease” suggest that this “dramatic response is the correct approach”.
And as the Times adds, polls suggest that, for the time being, we “nearly all support their authoritarianism”.
“In this strange and febrile period, it is far from straightforward to pin down what truly counts as ‘proportionate and necessary’ action and what is an abuse of power,” says the newspaper.
But The Independent reports that some observers are less accepting of this new wave of power consolidation. “On Monday, a group of United Nations-affiliated experts issued a stark warning that emergency measures over coronavirus should not be used by governments for political ends.
“While we recognise the severity of the current health crisis and acknowledge that the use of emergency powers is allowed by international law in response to significant threats, we urgently remind states that any emergency responses to the coronavirus must be proportionate, necessary and non-discriminatory,” the experts said. “Emergency declarations based on the Covid-19 outbreak should not be used as a basis to target particular groups, minorities, or individuals.
“It should not function as a cover for repressive action under the guise of protecting health nor should it be used to silence the work of human rights defenders.”
What does it all mean?
The Independent paints a grim picture of the future if coronavirus-fuelled authoritarianism is allowed to continue once the pandemic comes to an end.
“In the United States, a White House staffed by xenophobes is using the coronavirus to strengthen border controls it has long wanted to embrace,” the paper says. “In Israel and Singapore, governments are invoking the crisis over Covid-19 to track movements of people on cell phones.
“In Iran, a government obsessed with control has used the epidemic to deploy security forces around the country to clear the streets.”
But Barry Eichengreen in The Guardian is more optimistic. “Authoritarian leaders don’t like bad news, which they tend to suppress, sometimes at cost to themselves.
“One hears about rumblings of a backlash against [Chinese president] Xi [Jinping] and his minions for having clamped down on news of the virus, thereby putting China at risk. Trump may similarly end up paying a price for having suppressed warnings from his own Department of Health and Human Services. If ever there was a circumstance suited to rehabilitate experts and encourage respect for politicians who defer to them, this is it.”
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?
The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate branding
In the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
What will security guarantees for Ukraine look like?
Today's Big Question From boots on the ground to economic sanctions, here are the measures that might stop Russia taking another bite out of Ukraine
-
Will Ukraine trade territory for peace?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Kyiv’s defences are wearing thin but a land swap is constitutionally impossible and crosses Zelenskyy's red lines
-
Russia tries Ukraine land grab before Trump summit
Speed Read The incursion may be part of Putin's efforts to boost his bargaining position
-
Europe counters Putin ahead of Trump summit
Speed Read President Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week for Ukraine peace talks
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?
Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
-
Who wins from a Trump-Putin meeting?
Today's Big Question Trump might get the leaders together for a photo op but brokering a peace deal won’t be easy
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war