→ Protect the information ecosystem. Media and alterna ­tive information is the most contested arena in both countries. Defend press freedom, support independent journalism and counter systematic delegitimisation of fact-based reporting. → Safeguard horizontal accountability. Attacks on judicial independence and checks/balances feature prominently across blocs. Strengthen institutional resilience, docu ­ment rhetorical assaults on courts, and build coalitions to defend the rule of law. → Monitor mainstream accommodation. Track whether cen ­tre-right parties adopt far-right framings. Early detection of contagion enables corrective messaging and coalition-­building to resist normalisation. → Develop counter-narratives. Illiberal rhetoric succeeds by repetition. Democratic actors must proactively frame contestation and pluralism as strengths, not obstacles. By systematically measuring illiberal discourse, this approach begins to provide democratic actors with tools to identify vulnerabilities before they become crises. Expanding this framework to Italy, Brazil and beyond represents a next step toward mapping the global illiberal playbook and directing resources where they are most urgently needed. References Abou-Chadi, T. and Krause, W. (2020): The causal effect of radical right success on mainstream parties’ policy positions: A regression discontinui ­ty approach, in: British Journal of Political Science, 50(3): 829–847. Dahl, R. (1971): Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. Yale Univer ­sity Press. Meguid, B.M. (2008): Party competition between unequals: Strategies and electoral fortunes in Western Europe. Cambridge University Press. Mudde, C. (2019): The far right today. Polity Press. Newth, G. and Scopelliti, A. (2025): Common sense, populism, and reac ­tionary politics on Twitter: An analysis of populist far-right common sense narratives between 2008 and 2022, in: Party Politics, 31(2): 375–391. Rovira Kaltwasser, C., Espinoza, G., Meléndez, C., Tanscheit, T. and Zanotti, L. (2024): Apoyo y rechazo a la ultraderecha: estudio compara­do sobre Argentina, Brasil y Chile. Fundación Friedrich Ebert en Chile. Available at: https://library. fes. de/pdf-files/bueros/chile/21406. pdf. Tracing illiberal talk – How far-right rhetoric erodes ­democracy before policies change 5