On the illusion of a free press in illiberal populist regimes

Researchers and colleagues on the international research project Populist Backlash, Democratic Backsliding, and the Crisis of the Rule of Law in the European Union (POPBACK), Fanni Toth, PhD, Marlene Radl (Visiting Fellow at The Peace Institute) and project leader prof. Gerhard Schnyder have published their arguments about the changing media landscape in regimes where populist parties and leaders hold political power. In their critical piece on The Conversation web-portal they show how the concentration of ownership, concentrated around a narrow political network, contributes to achieving right-wing hegemony and the control of news discourse in the country. They also argue that in “competitive authoritarianism”, critical media outlets are allowed to function and publish to a certain extent, however they must be continuously controlled, limited and curtailed. Enjoy your reading!