The evidence is fast accumulating that autocrats and aspiring strongmen regard the coronavirus as a unique opportunity to expand their political control. Even before the pandemic, leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, India’s Narendra Modi, and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan were systematically dismantling the infrastructure of democracy—by threatening independent judiciaries and anti-corruption agencies, stamping on minority rights and civil liberties, and putting term limits in the crosshairs.
OP-ED
Arch Puddington, David J. Kramer: The pandemic and a free press
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with regional officials via tele link in his residence outside Moscow on March 30, 2020, amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
