

Authoritarian Reach
The world’s authoritarian regimes understand that domestic repression alone will not ensure their survival. Over the past two decades, they have extended their influence beyond their own borders in an attempt to silence critics, subvert democratic governments, and reshape international norms and institutions to serve their own interests.
Understanding Transnational Repression

New Report: Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach
Dozens of governments around the world systemically employ violence against exiles and diasporas, reaching beyond national borders to silence dissent.

Explainer Video
Hear from victims and learn more about the dangerous threat of transnational repression.
The world’s authoritarian regimes understand that domestic repression alone will not ensure their survival. Over the past two decades, they have extended their influence beyond their own borders in an attempt to silence critics, subvert democratic governments, and reshape international norms and institutions to serve their own interests.
Freedom House’s current work on authoritarian reach has two main areas: transnational repression, and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) information influence abroad.
Freedom House is a leading authority on transnational repression, or the targeting of exiles and diasporas by the state they left behind. Freedom House mapped the global scale and scope of transnational repression in its 2021 report Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach. Its current research on transnational repression focuses on how host states can better protect exiles and diasporas within their borders through reforms in law enforcement, security services, and migration.
Freedom House has been closely monitoring Chinese Communist Party information influence for over a decade through the China Media Bulletin and a series of special reports, including the 2020 Beijing’s Global Megaphone. Freedom House is expanding this research through a new project on Beijing’s Global Media Influence. The project will document how the CCP, Chinese state media, and related actors exert influence on media and news consumption in 30 countries worldwide, as well as the degree of local resilience to the covert, corrupt, and coercive dimensions of Beijing’s information influence.
Reports & Analysis
News & Perspectives:

NEW REPORT: Regional Autocrats Exploiting Instability, Expanding Power from Central Europe to Central Asia
Press release
April 20, 2022

Turkey: Authorities Abdicate Responsibility, Deny Justice in Khashoggi Case
Press release
April 8, 2022
Freedom House In the Media
Featured Experts
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