Authoritarianism Goes Global: The Challenge to Democracy

by Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, Christopher Walker

Overview

With democracy in decline, authoritarian governments are staging a comeback around the world.

Over the past decade, illiberal powers have become emboldened and gained influence within the global arena. Leading authoritarian countries—including China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela—have developed new tools and strategies to contain the spread of democracy and challenge the liberal international political order. Meanwhile, the advanced democracies have retreated, failing to respond to the threat posed by the authoritarians.

As undemocratic regimes become more assertive, they are working together to repress civil society while tightening their grip on cyberspace and expanding their reach in international media. These political changes have fostered the emergence of new counternorms—such as the authoritarian subversion of credible election monitoring—that threaten to further erode the global standing of liberal democracy.

In Authoritarianism Goes Global, a distinguished group of contributors present fresh insights on the complicated issues surrounding the authoritarian resurgence and the implications of these systemic shifts for the international order. This collection of essays is critical for advancing our understanding of the emerging challenges to democratic development.

Contributors: Anne Applebaum, Anne-Marie Brady, Alexander Cooley, Javier Corrales, Ron Deibert, Larry Diamond, Patrick Merloe, Abbas Milani, Andrew Nathan, Marc F. Plattner, Peter Pomerantsev, Douglas Rutzen, Lilia Shevtsova, Alex Vatanka, Christopher Walker, and Frederic Wehrey

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421419978
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	04/15/2016
Series:	A Journal of Democracy Book
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	733,272
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Larry Diamond is coeditor of the Journal of Democracy, codirector of the International Forum for Democratic Studies, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Marc F. Plattner is vice president for research and studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. Plattner and Diamond are coeditors of the Journal of Democracy.

Christopher Walker is Vice President for Studies and Analysis at the National Endowment for Democracy. He is a coeditor of Authoritarianism Goes Global: The Challenge to Democracy and Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 3

Part 1 The Authoritarian "Big Five"

1 China's Challenge Andrew J. Nathan 23

2 Forward to the Past in Russia Lilia Shevtsova 40

3 Iran's Paradoxical Regime Abbas Milani 57

4 Iran Abroad Alex Vatanka 67

5 Autocratic Legalism in Venezuela Javier Corrales 78

6 Saudi Arabia's Anxious Autocrats Frederic Wehrey 96

Part 2 Arenas of "Soft-Power" Competition

7 Countering Democratic Norms Alexander Cooley 117

8 Election Monitoring vs. Disinformation Patrick Merloe 135

9 The Leninist Roots of Civil Society Repression Anne Applebaum 152

10 Civil Society Under Assault Douglas Rutzen 160

11 The Kremlin's Information War Peter Pomerantsev 174

12 China's Foreign Propaganda Machine Anne-Marie Brady 187

13 Cyberspace Under Siege Ron Deibert 198

14 Dealing with the Authoritarian Resurgence Christopher Walker 216

About the Authors 235

Index 239

Editorial Reviews

The contributions of this volume are good, and the book as whole represents a solid primer on this new, more authoritarian, world order.
—International Studies Review

From the Publisher

The contributions of this volume are good, and the book as whole represents a solid primer on this new, more authoritarian, world order.

International Studies Review