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Browse resources on authoritarian sharp power and its effects on the integrity of institutions and globalized spaces.
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Publication Date: September 28, 2023
How the People’s Republic of China Seeks to Reshape the Global Information Environment
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
The PRC has sought to shape the global information landscape in its favor through information manipulation, intimidation, co-opting journalists and enabling digital authoritarianism with cutting-edge technology.
Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute
Publication Date: September 19, 2023
China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Politics Over Economics
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
Author: Felix K. Chang
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been expected to enter a new phase following the PRC’s Third BRI Forum in October 2023. With over 150 countries participating in the BRI, China’s plans for its signature initiative have appeared increasingly political and less focused on infrastructure development.
Source: Power 3.0
Publication Date: September 12, 2023
Taiwan on the Frontline of China’s Information Operations
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Taiwan
Author: Ko Shu-Ling
Within Taiwan, PRC-backed media outlets have discredited pro-independence perspectives and increased polarization through disinformation. Beijing has relied on its state agencies, Taiwanese provincial governments, commercial media, and social media to amplify these information manipulation operations.
Publication Date: October 18, 2023
Indonesia, China Vow to Expand Economic Cooperation
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Indonesia
Author: Sebastian Strangio
The third Belt and Road Forum, in October 2023, demonstrated that many Southeast Asian leaders see China as the key to their nations’ prosperity, helping them to build infrastructure and adopt new technologies. That dependence may discourage leaders from challenging China’s anti-democratic rhetoric.
Publication Date: November 16, 2023
China’s Expanding Health Diplomacy in Indonesia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Indonesia
Author: Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, Yeta Purnama
While the Chinese and Indonesian government began cooperating during the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccine distribution, Beijing has recently increased its investment in Indonesia’s health sector to push back against negative perceptions of China among a majority of Indonesians.
Source: China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe
Publication Date: May 4, 2022
Backing Russia on Ukraine: China’s Messaging in Central and Eastern Europe
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Slovakia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia, Europe, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary
Author: Ivana Karásková et. al.
PRC embassies and state-affiliated media have been promoting anti-NATO and pro-Russian narratives in nine Central and Eastern European states. The messaging is centered upon the war in Ukraine, seeking to undermine the United States, European Union, and NATO while building support for China and Russia.
Source: Balkan Insight
Publication Date: March 29, 2023
Montenegro Signs Contract With Chinese Company to Build Coastal Highway
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Montenegro
Author: Samir Kajosevic
The government of Montenegro partnered with a Chinese corporation that is known for maintaining secrecy in other regional projects. This lack of accountability is characteristic of Chinese Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects.
Publication Date: March 27, 2023
Europe Fights Back Against Chinese and Russian “Elite Capture”
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Italy
Author: Gabriele Carrer
China’s investments in European businesses opened opportunities for elite capture by offering jobs or board appointments to retired politicians and other influential individuals. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Italy has taken a more skeptical look at these investments.
Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute
Publication Date: March 23, 2023
China is Finally Making Progress on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Eurasia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
Author: Niva Yau, Tsz Yan
Beijing secured the rights to build a new railway linking Xinjiang with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan after many delays. The new project could advance China’s geopolitical interests and secure support among Central Asian elites for Chinese legitimacy claims in Xinjiang .
Publication Date: March 23, 2023
China, Russia Target Audiences Online With Deep Fakes, Replica Front Pages
Authoritarian Country: China, Russia
Affected Region: Global
Author: Liam Scott
Concern has grown over Russia and China’s use of AI to impersonate trusted international media outlets and personalities in bids to manipulate information around the globe. Researchers anticipate the volume and quality of deep fakes to intensify, contributing to a further erosion of trust in media.
Publication Date: March 1, 2024
Biden Orders US Investigation of National Security Risks Posed by Chinese-Made ‘Smart Cars’
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: North America, United States
Author: Matthew Daly
The Biden administration has ordered an investigation into Chinese-made smart vehicles that pose national security risks including data collection, remote controlling and espionage. US officials are concerned that Chinese companies are finding ways to evade tariffs and pre-existing restrictions placed on Chinese cars.
Source: Power 3.0
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
The 16+1 Initiative: China’s Divisive Equation for Central and Eastern Europe
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Europe, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia
Author: Martin Hala
The 16+1 Initiative, a regional bloc of China and post-communist Eastern European states, has reversed progress towards more transparent socioeconomic systems. The initiative has created the bilateral infrastructure for the PRC to execute elite capture, undermining the countries’ Western allies.
Source: Power 3.0
Publication Date: June 27, 2024
Caught Between Two Giants: How Mongolia’s Democracy Can Counter Authoritarian Propaganda
Authoritarian Country: China, Russia
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Mongolia
Author: Batsugar Tsedendamba
In Mongolia, the PRC and Russia have launched aggressive propaganda campaigns and sought to suppress negative media regarding their activities. Beijing-affiliated content has promoted the CCP’s economic model, whereas Kremlin-backed media has focused on promoting anti-American and anti-West stances.
Publication Date: June 27, 2024
China’s Influence Operations in the South Asian Region
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
Author: Sanchaly Bhattacharya
Through the Belt and Road Initiative and Free Trade Agreements, the CCP has been using economic investment and coercion to further its foreign policy goals in South Asia. A multilayered propaganda system has contributed to this effort, which includes state-controlled media and academic partnerships.
Source: Balkan Insight
Publication Date: June 22, 2023
Social Controls: China- Style Surveillance is Coming to Serbia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Serbia
Author: Maja Bjelos
Serbian government and state-owned enterprises have increasingly adopted Chinese surveillance technologies capable of penetrating users’ devices and acquiring large amounts of data. Chinese technological influence in Serbia has risked individual privacy and freedoms.