China’s totalitarian regime is built on surveillance, censorship, and repression, with harsh penalties for anyone who dares to defy it. Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have ambitions that extend beyond China’s borders. Bent on exporting its authoritarian model, the party has been waging economic, strategic, and media influence campaigns to undermine democracy across the globe.
The following Journal of Democracy essays explore how China undermines democracy both at home and abroad. Read for free now.
China’s Threat to Global Democracy
The Chinese Communist Party is deadly serious about its authoritarian designs, and it is bent on promoting them. It is time for the world’s democracies to get serious, too.
Michael Beckley and Hal BrandsChina’s Age of Counterreform
The People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, abandoning the ideological openness of the reform era and the socialist legacy of the revolutionary period. Under Xi Jinping, regime stability trumps all — and the PRC is weaker and less stable as a result.
Carl MinznerHow Civil Society Can Confront the China Challenge — And Win
The CCP is engaged in a sprawling campaign to undermine democracy. Governments too often can be lumbering or weak in response. Look to civil society for the creativity and skill to keep the CCP on its heels.
Kevin Sheives and Caitlin Dearing ScottThe World Has Become Flatter for Authoritarian Regimes
They are benefiting from a world that has grown more hostile for democracy and human rights. But it doesn’t need to be the case. Democracies need to double down on their own competitive advantage.
Christopher WalkerHow Taiwan Should Combat China’s Information War
Beijing assaults Taiwan with a nonstop barrage of conspiracy theories and lies to undermine people’s faith in democracy — and China’s efforts are getting more sophisticated. Taiwan must do even more to fight back.
Tim NivenFighting for Democracy Is a Crime in Hong Kong
A Hong Kong court just handed out heavy sentences to 45 democracy activists. The pro-Beijing government is taking a hard line against anyone who would challenge it.
Michael C. Davis‘Their Control Cannot Be Flawless’
What are the true lessons from Tiananmen Square? Why does nonviolent resistance offer the best chance of challenging the CCP? Hu Ping, a leading Chinese dissident, reflects on the mistakes that were made and what it will take to succeed next time.
Reflections from a Chinese Dissident
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