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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 6, 2022
Chinese Influence in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Author: Tijana Cvjetićanin
The Chinese Communist Party strives to cultivate cultural, political, and academic ties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These efforts are more pronounced in the Republika Srpska, where the authorities tend to adopt a pro-Russian and anti-Western foreign policy stance.
Publication Date: September 1, 2022
Chinese Influence in Serbia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Serbia
Author: Stefan Vladisavljev
Chinese influence in Serbia is spread through various means. The most conspicuous and successful tools have been economic cooperation between Serbia and China, activities of the Chinese embassy, bilateral visits, “mask and vaccine diplomacy,” and cooperation with Serbian media.
Publication Date: August 29, 2022
Chinese Influence in North Macedonia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, North Macedonia
Author: Ana Krstinovska
North Macedonia is a member of several international organizations, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and NATO, where the vote of each country counts. Thus, China seeks to ensure North Macedonia’s friendship, or at least neutrality, on resolutions tabled by Western governments.
Publication Date: August 25, 2022
Chinese Influence in Slovakia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Slovakia
Author: Filip Šebok
China’s policies toward Slovakia have included protecting China’s core interests on issues such as Taiwan and Tibet; creating a positive image of China, Chinese foreign policy, and Sino-Slovak relations; and establishing links with political and business leaders to induce China-friendly policies.
Publication Date: August 24, 2022
Chinese Influence in Montenegro
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Montenegro
Author: Milica Kovačević
China exerts influence in Montenegro through economic clout, primarily through huge debt for construction projects that will burden Montenegro for years. China’s investments in Montenegro benefit from a loophole that allows them to escape public scrutiny, competitive bidding, and national regulations.
Publication Date: August 16, 2022
Chinese Influence in Romania
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Romania
Author: Rufin Zamfir, Andrei Tiut
China’s attempts to project influence in Romania primarily target elites. Through Confucius Institutes, new generations of educated individuals are persuaded to focus on the economics of the Sino-Romanian relationship rather than the threat that the Chinese political model represents to democracy.
Publication Date: August 15, 2022
Chinese Influence in the Czech Republic
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Czechia
Author: Ivana Karásková
Beijing’s main strategic goals in the Czech Republic have been to weaken political support for Taiwan and to improve China’s image in the country, for example by fighting narratives depicting it as a human rights violator and as the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Publication Date: August 10, 2022
Chinese Influence in Latvia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Latvia
Author: Mārtiņš Hiršs
Chinese malign influence efforts in Latvia so far have been relatively passive. The goals are primarily to create a positive image of China, gather information on and establish contacts with the political and economic elite, and probe possibilities for major investments in Latvia.
Publication Date: August 9, 2022
Chinese Influence in Slovenia
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Slovenia
Author: Saša Istenič Kotar
China’s main goal in Slovenia is to secure a long-term political and security partnership with Ljubljana. Its main source of influence is its economic appeal: It affects the behavior of businesspeople and politicians in Slovenia and contributes to China’s cultural influence in multiple areas.
Publication Date: August 1, 2022
Chinese Influence in Lithuania
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Lithuania
Author: Konstantinas Andrijauskas
Amid deteriorating relations, the most important means to affect the Lithuanian population writ large has been the PRC embassy’s sponsored articles and interviews in the country’s printed media. Some United Front activities have also targeted the local Chinese diaspora and subnational political elites.
Publication Date: August 1, 2022
Chinese Influence in Poland
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Poland
Author: Alicja Bachulska
The Chinese Communist Party’s influence efforts in Poland have centered around two pillars: 1) attempting to establish local proxies, and 2) promoting Beijing’s official messaging through traditional and social media, public diplomacy, and people-to-people relations.
Source: Visegrad Insight
Publication Date: April 27, 2022
Russia’s Digital Battleground: Polish Society
Authoritarian Country: Russia
Affected Region: Europe, Ukraine, Poland
Immediately after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Polish online space was riddled with disinformation about fuel shortages, refugees, and Ukrainian statehood, among other themes. Disseminators of fake news adapted to real socio-political events in order to influence, fabricate, and even control them.
Source: Atlantic Council
Publication Date: April 19, 2022
China’s Discourse Power Operations in the Global South: An Overview of Chinese Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Venezuela, South Africa, Iran
Author: Kenton Thibaut
Case studies on South Africa, Venezuela, and Iran reveal evidence of a symbiotic relationship between Beijing’s efforts to enhance its discourse power—including by co-opting the voices of foreign leaders—and local governments’ efforts to weaken the checks and balances that civil society imposes.
Publication Date: March 24, 2022
China’s Influence in the Nordic-Baltic Information Environment: Latvia and Sweden
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Europe, Sweden, Latvia
Author: Katherine Nichols et al.
Beijing exploits several avenues of influence in the Nordic-Baltic region, including economic cooperation and investments, academic and parliamentary relationships, public diplomacy, and efforts to strengthen its ‘discourse power’ through local media and proxies.
Source: Asia Democracy Network
Publication Date: February 21, 2022
China’s Rise Under the Lens: Democracy and Human Rights at Risk
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Asia-Pacific, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Pakistan, South Korea, Burma
Author: Cleve V. Arguelles, Karel Jiaan Antonio Galang
Beijing continues to actively undermine strong democracies, enthusiastically support illiberal forces in fragile democracies, and diligently create relationships of mutual dependence among non-democracies. Outright coercion, disinformation, censorship, and influence-peddling campaigns are commonplace.