The New Global Authoritarianism: China and Russia's Strategic Support for Autocracies
Project Expert
About the Project
In the past decade, militaries around the world have become involved in domestic politics and public policy formulation at levels not seen since the Cold War. At the same time, authoritarian regimes overall have drawn closer to each other, often supporting each other financially, strategically, diplomatically, and militarily.
There are multiple reasons for these two trends, but China and Russia have played a critical role in fomenting, enabling, and accelerating coups and other revivals of military power, and have led the broader revival of a network of authoritarians around the world. This global trend has a range of significant policy implications: for publics in affected countries, including their democracies, rights, political parties, and governance; for the broader future of the global balance between democracy and authoritarianism, as China in particular pushes for an alternative, authoritarian world order and control of more strategic assets and minerals; for U.S. policymakers and other democratic powers dealing with the influence of the major autocrats in important regions; and, for policymakers attempting to navigate the changing global order. The rise of global authoritarianism and militarization will make for extensive and thoughtful discussions and, ultimately, a book on this subject.
This project is made possible by the generous support of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy and the Henry Luce Foundation.