Nicușor Dan’s narrow victory over far-right challenger George Simion on 18 May averted the election of Romania's first openly illiberal president. Yet Simion still managed to attract 46.4% of the vote. Vera Tika reveals how ideas born under the Iron Guard, refined under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s national-communism, and weaponised by TikTok, now dominate Romanian politics — and are testing Europe’s eastern frontier of democracy
Research Associate, Centre for Political Research, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens
Vera's work explores the intersections of far-right extremism, xenophobia, online hate speech, and the erosion of democratic norms in contemporary Europe.
She serves on the Executive Committee of the Far Right Analysis Network (FRAN) and contributes to Demolish Greece, a research initiative dedicated to uncovering and challenging authoritarian narratives, antisemitism, and digitally mediated discrimination.
Vera is actively engaged in European projects focused on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE), and is a member of the continent-wide network on conspiracy theories and disinformation.
Her approach integrates political theory, digital sociology, and comparative research, with a particular focus on Southern and post-communist European contexts.
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