New policy brief out

Dr Thalia Gerzso has contributed a policy brief to The Authoritarian Ecosystem, a new collection published jointly by the Political Studies Association (UK) and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

The brief, titled "Judicial Capture in the Authoritarian Ecosystem: Strategies, Conditions, and Pathways to Resistance", examines how courts are targeted by autocrats through incremental institutional mechanisms, including control over judicial appointments and tenure, financial pressure, fragmentation of court systems, and restrictions on access to justice. Drawing on comparative evidence, the brief argues that courts are not passive bystanders in democratic backsliding but active sites of contestation that can either resist or accelerate it. It also identifies the conditions under which courts are most likely to resist authoritarian pressure, and sets out policy recommendations for governments, civil society, and international organisations.

The full collection is available at: https://www.wfd.org/what-we-do/resources/authoritarian-ecosystem