Toward Liberty, Through Knowledge: An Exploration of Free Media as a Bulwark Against Democratic Backsliding

Free media institutions are an early target that many authoritarian minded elites seek to suppress in pursuit of consolidating power: a well-studied trend that highlights the perceived threat to anti-democratic agendas that such institutions pose in the minds of rising authoritarians. This thesis explores this threat further, exploring the trend in the reverse causal direction to understand whether and how the free media acts as a bulwark against democratic backsliding. It proceeds by highlighting the process of Hungary’s democratic decline under the rule of Victor Orbán who, by consolidating his and the Fidesz party's control over the state, wrote the playbook for democratic backsliding. It then explores backsliding trends in Poland and Czechia, highlighting (1) variation in the extent to which authoritarian elites in Hungary, Poland, and Czechia successfully suppressed the free media and (2) variation in their ability to maintain control. Ultimately, the thesis reveals that the free media can act as a bulwark against democratic backsliding by revealing the anti-democratic actions of political elites and, through such exposition, empowering citizens to act. Additionally, citizens may take action through protests, bringing still more attention to authoritarian minded elites attempts to consolidate power.