Following decades of relative unity, Europe is once again seeing an intensification of nationalism and illiberalism. “The past is never dead,” wrote William Faulkner, “it’s not even past.” Like tectonic plates, perceptions shift without us realizing it. Only when the resulting tensions erupt do we notice the new reality. The soul of a country, however, reveals itself along far more expansive time scales. In Fault Lines, Jörg Colberg examines the origins and effects of such processes in Hungary, where the authoritarian transformation of state and society has been underway for more than a decade without regard for losses.