Neta Oren – Democratic Backsliding in Netanyahu’s Israel

Introduction

During the mass protests against the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul, demonstrators in Tel Aviv carried a huge sign showing Netanyahu alongside the Russian, Hungarian, and Turkish leaders, suggesting a similarity between Netanyahu and these other leaders. Indeed, the current judicial “reforms” in Israel should be studied as a part of a global “wave” of democratic backsliding by elected leaders who have used the power of their positions to challenge and undermine democratic institutions and norms (Norris and Inglehart 2019; Haggard 2021). From this perspective, Israel’s judicial overhaul is one step in the backsliding process, which started during Netanyahu’s previous terms and intensified in his current term following the November 2022 election. As in other cases of democratic backsliding, the changes probably will not be limited to the Judiciary.