Senior Correspondent at Vox covering the crisis of global democracy. Author of The Reactionary Spirit, a book on that topic, and a '25-'26 distinguished visiting fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House.https://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mkivbur2ws2rYou should read @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social, who is one of *the* experts on political violence in the US https://rachelkleinfeld.substack.com/p/political-violence-overview-202627 Apr 2026 20:18 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkivbur2ws2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mki6fb5wsc24As it becomes increasingly obvious that this administration is flailing, I think we can we say there were two moments of peak danger for US democracy so far: 1) The initial DOGE blitz on separation of powers 2) The free speech crackdown after Charlie Kirk Interesting to reflect on why both failed.27 Apr 2026 13:28 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mki6fb5wsc24https://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mkaoe64ew227My colleague @ericlevitz.bsky.social has Hasan Piker dead to rights https://www.vox.com/politics/486091/hasan-piker-democrats-israel-china24 Apr 2026 13:52 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkaoe64ew227https://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mk3l7fwuys2kIt is objectively bad for democracy that both blue and red states are doing extreme gerrymanders. But the only feasible solution — a national ban on partisan gerrymandering — has only been endorsed by one party. And it's not the one complaining about Virginia right now.22 Apr 2026 13:13 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk3l7fwuys2khttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjwsoyq6s22tIf you're still interested in the Hungarian election — which you should be! — I'm doing a panel at Penn today at 3. We'll talk about what happened, what the stakes for Hungarian democracy are, and what this says about the global far-right project. Watch here: upennmeeting-edu.zoom.us/j/96282978519 https://upennmeeting-edu.zoom.us/j/9628297851920 Apr 2026 15:43 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjwsoyq6s22thttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjmjoeqi6k23"Give the 'democratic backsliding experts' a well-deserved W, and thank God that our system proved strong enough to resist. Then add an extra thanks that Hungary can say the same." https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/orban-was-bad-even-though-we-dont16 Apr 2026 13:35 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjmjoeqi6k23https://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjk77f6qok2gI hadn't watched Benny in a while, but it's striking how much he has tailored his speaking style to sound like Tucker Carlson. The pauses, the cadence, the intonation: it genuinely sounds like he's trying to be do a Tucker impersonation. Which tracks, as Benny is a notorious plagiarist. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Apr 2026 15:23 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjk77f6qok2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjjym6mtzs2sI thought this strain of atrocity-apologist leftism, the tankie/campist tendency, was so irrelevant it could ignored. Unfortunately, some recent developments suggest otherwise. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Apr 2026 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjjym6mtzs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjewdokkx22wYes. ”Silver bullet” thinking is the wrong method for identifying general lessons here [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Apr 2026 13:01 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjewdokkx22whttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjdkhsr2722oA lot of Orbán's American fans are saying that this election proved he was never an authoritarian in the first place. This is completely wrong — and, in fact, betrays a complete misunderstanding of both Hungarian politics and modern authoritarianism. Here's why.12 Apr 2026 23:55 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdkhsr2722ohttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjdcavleh22mUseful idiots hardest hit12 Apr 2026 21:28 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdcavleh22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjdadhf5n22cThe thing to watch right now: whether the opposition wins two-thirds of seats in Hungary’s parliament. If they don’t, then the Orbán regime will likely survive. If they do, then there is a chance - maybe even a good one - that Hungarian democracy could come back to life. https://www.vox.com/politics/485521/hungary-election-results-2026-viktor-orban-peter-magyar12 Apr 2026 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdadhf5n22chttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjd6uwkn3k2gI've spent nearly a decade covering the regime in Hungary. Extraordinary to see a popular rejection so decisive that even Orbán felt forced to bow to it.12 Apr 2026 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjd6uwkn3k2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mjcey52qfc25Yes. So many people who don’t understand Hungarian politics are going to blow this story today [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Apr 2026 12:45 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjcey52qfc25https://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mj634ysucc2lI've been reporting on Hungary for nearly a decade now, and it makes it really easy to see when others in the American press make fundamental errors in how they cover the election and its true stakes. Some of them are really bad!10 Apr 2026 19:38 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj634ysucc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3miykt7mw6c2dThe polling shows Viktor Orbán going down to defeat. But will he allow that to happen? https://www.vox.com/politics/485058/hungary-election-2026-orban-trump-vance-maga08 Apr 2026 15:03 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3miykt7mw6c2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3miyfoznuqk2xThe range of possibilities in Iran currently is massive, ranging from a return to even-bloodier war to a joint US-Iranian protection racket in the Strait of Hormuz. The one thing that unites all of this outcomes? They're all worse — much worse — than the status quo ex ante.08 Apr 2026 13:31 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3miyfoznuqk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/zackbeauchamp.bsky.social/post/3mivuk7ptok2aGenocidal language07 Apr 2026 13:19 +0000at://did:plc:eyfljkh234pjizrlqp4kduaa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mivuk7ptok2a