Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a welcome ceremony for Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 25, 2016. Editorial Credit: Kyodo News Stills via Getty Images.

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.

Freedom on the Net

Advances in artificial intelligence are increasing the scale, speed, and efficiency of digital repression. Explore Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence.

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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 newest report, Defending Democracy in Exile, 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.

Volunteers clean up the rubbles from a destroyed residential building in Borodyanka. Following the recapture of Borodyanka by the Ukrainian forces, the city was heavily devastated and turned into ruins under intense fighting and shelling.

Nations in Transit

Nations in Transit measures progress and setbacks in democratization in 29 countries from Central Europe to Central Asia. In 2023, Democracy Scores declined in 11 out of the 29 countries, yet civic activists and democratic leaders continued to strive for better governance across the diverse region. Explore the latest edition of Nations in Transit.

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Freedom in the World

Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy are accelerating their attacks, contributing to the 17th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. Explore the latest edition of Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy to learn more about the latest global trends.

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Free Them All: A Political Prisoners Initiative

Free Them All: A Political Prisoners Initiative is a new Freedom House project intended to help free political prisoners and push back against the jailing of activists as a tool of repression. Located around the globe, the stories of these artists, journalists, and activists illustrate the significant pressures and harms that human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists face in reprisal for their work and why they need our support.

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Beijing’s Global Media Influence

New Report: Authoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience

Our latest report, Beijing’s Global Media Influence: Authoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience, offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of Beijing’s global media influence and the ways in which democracies are responding.

Front pages of the China Daily (left), the Beijing News (center), and the Global Times (right) featuring reaction to the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, which took place on April 15, 2019.

Beijing’s Global Media Influence Methodology

More on the research, country selection, and scoring for Freedom House’s BGMI report.

People take part in an event in front of the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur in solidarity with the Uyghur community in China in 2019. The event commemorated the 10th anniversary of the riots in Urumqi that left nearly 200 people dead.

Policy Recommendations

Governments, media outlets, civil society, and technology firms all have an essential role to play in protecting freedom of expression and access to information in the face of increasingly aggressive Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence efforts, while ensuring adherence to democratic norms and international human rights standards. Read more on Freedom House's global policy recommendations from the Beijing's Global Media Influence report.

Understanding Transnational Repression

Freedom House - Transnational Repression 2022

New Report: Defending Democracy in Exile

Dozens of governments around the world systemically employ violence against exiles and diasporas, reaching beyond national borders to silence dissent. Read more about transnational repression in our newest report, Defending Democracy in Exile: Policy Responses to Transnational Repression.

Freedom House - Transnational Repression Origin Host Countries

About Transnational Repression

By studying transnational repression at a global scale, Freedom House aims to explain the repercussions of these campaigns, and to help policymakers and civil society think about how they can respond to protect exiles and diasporas. Read all of our reports on transnational repression.

Freedom House - Transnational Repression Grave Threats

Policy Recommendations

The recommendations listed below are intended to constrain the ability of states to commit acts of transnational repression and to increase accountability for perpetrators of transnational repression.