China’s rapidly increasing political influencing efforts and the self-confident promotion of its authoritarian ideals present a fundamental challenge to western democracies, analysts Thorsten Benner and Kristin Shi-Kupfer write for The… Read more »
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s consolidation of control will leave them personally responsible for their governments’ successes and missteps. The buck stops with them, according to Alina Polyakova and Torrey Taussig. In… Read more »
China and the Vatican will establish formal diplomatic relations sooner or later because Pope Francis has the “wisdom” to resolve problems between the two sides, a state-run Chinese newspaper said… Read more »
Two new studies suggest that Europe’s embrace of China, even as it warns against Russian meddling, might benefit from a certain degree of wariness. When it comes to Beijing, they argue,… Read more »
Has China’s sharp power offensive left the West’s democracies looking ‘like strategic amateurs’? An opinion piece by Chinese media outlet Caixin Global is touting the idea of “globalism with Chinese… Read more »
India has traditionally been reluctant to engage in democracy promotion, notes James Crabtree, an associate professor of practice at the National University of Singapore and author of “The Billionaire… Read more »
Western companies are kowtowing to China’s Communist authorities, acceding to the ruling party’s curbs on basic liberties, according to reports. The efforts by Beijing to curtail free speech at companies… Read more »
China’s influence operations are “strategic and multifaceted”, The Guardian notes: The National Endowment for Democracy recently described other aspects as “sharp power”: the effort by authoritarian states not just to attract support… Read more »
Arseny Roginsky (left), a veteran activist who was chairman of the respected Memorial human rights society, has died after a life chronicling abuses and injustice in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet… Read more »
The downfall of a prominent Australian lawmaker is fueling a growing sense of unease about Chinese influence in the country’s domestic affairs, and raising tensions with its most important trading… Read more »