Abstract 

This report examines the intersection of autocratisation and states of emergency in contemporary democracies, suggesting that although each phenomenon has been studied separately, their interaction remains underexplored despite its potentially grave implications for democratic survival. Drawing on a comparative study of five formerly stable democracies that experienced substantial autocratisation: South Korea, India, Hungary, Venezuela, and Turkey, it shows that the convergence of autocratisation and emergency governance can accelerate and intensify democratic erosion, sometimes to the point of regime replacement and autocratic consolidation. The study identifies three main pathways through which this convergence harms democracy: the use of formal emergency powers, the use of extraordinary measures functionally equivalent to emergency powers, and the deployment of emergency rhetoric to justify urgent and exceptional action. Its central implication is that, while neither autocratisation nor emergency rule necessarily entails the other, their convergence may have a mutually reinforcing and deeply damaging effect on democracy as a whole.

The research report (in Hebrew) is available here