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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 in the World 2023

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.

Explore
 Free Them All: A Political Prisoners Initiative

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.

Learn More

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 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.

Beijing’s Global Media Influence

BGMI cover cropped

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.

Kuala Lumpur – July 5, 2019 – People take part in an event in front of the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur in solidarity with the Uighur community in China and to commemorate 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.

News & Perspectives:

International Women's Day 2023 China statement

Chinese Authorities Must Release “Blank Paper” Protesters and Allow Free Expression on COVID-19 Pandemic

Joint statement

March 8, 2023
: A photo of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen near the rubble of a collapsed building after a massive earthquake devastated the southern region of the country.

Another Illusion Falls in Turkey

Perspectives

March 2, 2023
Freedom House

Freedom House Affirms Ukraine’s Sovereignty, Right to Liberty on the One-Year Anniversary of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion

Press release

February 24, 2023

Freedom House

An Open Letter in Solidarity with Ukraine One Year Since Russia’s Invasion

Joint statement

February 24, 2023

Residential building in Ukraine shelled by Russian forces

Updates on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Joint statement

February 21, 2023

Stand with Iran

The Iranian Struggle for Freedom: A Call for Global Solidarity

Joint statement

February 6, 2023

Freedom House In the Media

South China Morning Post logo

How Beijing’s belligerence over Taiwan is connected to a Belt and Road Initiative in distress opens in new tab

August 15, 2022

forbes logo

LinkedIn Profiles Indicate 300 Current TikTok And ByteDance Employees Used To Work For Chinese State Media—And Some Still Do opens in new tab

August 11, 2022

NBC Logo

Pelosi says Taiwan trip 'worth it,' calls Xi 'a scared bully' opens in new tab

August 9, 2022

Featured Experts

Nate Schenkkan

Nate Schenkkan

Senior Director of Research, Countering Authoritarianism

@nateschenkkan

Sarah Cook Expert Photo

Sarah Cook

Senior Advisor for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Sarah_G_Cook

Yana Gorokhovskaia headshot

Yana Gorokhovskaia

Research Director, Strategy and Design

@gorokhovskaia

Reports & Analysis

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Civic Mobilizations Case Study: Vietnam

Special Report

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Civic Mobilizations Case Study: Ethiopia

Special Report

Civic Mobilizations: Sudanese Protest

The Spread of Non-Violent Action: The Case of the 2018–2019 Revolution in Sudan

Special Report

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Civic Mobilization in Belarus: The Case of the 2020 Election

Special Report

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How Civic Mobilizations Grow in Authoritarian Contexts

Special Report

Protest with signs "Canada Welcomes Refugees"

Canada: Transnational Repression Host Country Case Study

Special Report

If you would like to interview a Freedom House expert on this topic, please email [email protected].

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