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Winning the Battle of Ideas: Exposing Global Authoritarian Narratives and Revitalizing Democratic Principles

Joseph Siegle

Washington, DC: National Endowment for Democracy (NED) (2024), 23 pp.

"Rather than selling authoritarianism as such, authoritarian narratives focus on themes that have popular appeal—while attributing a wide range of visceral grievances to the shortcomings of democracy. Authoritarian narratives fall into four broad categories: 1. Noninterference, Choice, and Threats ... to Sovereignty: Narrative attempts to invoke universal themes such as sovereignty, noninterference, and choice which are presented as under threat from the spread of democracy. 2. Exploiting Grievances in the Global South: Tactics designed to attribute the numerous grievances in the Global South to exploitation by the West. 3. Democracies Failing to Deliver: A narrative that takes aim at the efficacy of democracy and, by implication, amplifies the ill-informed narratives about effectiveness of authoritarian governance. 4. Need for a New World Order: Collectively, the claims of Western interference, exploitation, and governance failures are intended to generate disillusionment with democracy and receptiveness to nondemocratic rule. Autocrats use a variety of channels to disseminate these preferred narratives at scale. The four following methods are particularly noteworthy: 1. Social Media: Authoritarians have taken advantage of the enormous—and still growing—social media sphere to promote narratives legitimizing autocracy. They exploit many users’ limited digital literacy skills through information influence campaigns and the employment of bots and online “troll farms” to peddle their preferred worldview. 2. State Broadcasters: Authoritarian actors also disseminate narratives through state media like RT, Sputnik, Xinhua, and China Global Television Network (CGTN). These outlets have the tone and imprimatur of an official news service, giving them a veneer of credibility that expands their reach. 3. Partnerships with Local Media: Authoritarian state-backed outlets aim to embed their content within national information environments. By disseminating preferred narratives through local media outlets and training foreign journalists, authoritarian actors are able to propagate norms of state control over the public information sphere. 4. Foreign Media Cooptation: Finally, authoritarian states are forging partnerships with other state broadcasters. These relationships have the indirect effect of incentivizing self-censorship and enable the intimidation of journalists and activists who criticize authoritarian leadership." (Executive summary, page 1-.2) more

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Frontier Influencers: The New Face of China’s Propaganda

Fergus Ryan, Daria Impiombato, Hsi-Ting Pai

Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), International Cyber Policy Centre (2022), 52 pp.

"This report explores how the Chinese party-state's globally focused propaganda and disinformation capabilities are evolving and increasing in sophistication. Concerningly, this emerging approach by the Chinese party-state to influence international discourse on China, including obfuscating its reco ... more

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The Smiling Dragon – China’s Soft Power in Southeast Asia: Implications for Germany and the EU

Céline-Agathe Caro (ed.)

Bangkok: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2022), ix, 149 pp.

"This publication aims to analyse China’s soft power strategies in selected ASEAN countries and issue recommendations for Germany and the European Union (EU) in this field. The subject of China’s grow ing influence on a global scale is of the highest importance for decision-makers and interested ... more

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The Revolution Will be Televised in Arabic: Iran’s Media Infrastructure Abroad

Hamdi Malik

Washington, DC: Washington Institute for Near East Policy (2022), 19 pp.

"The media space is increasingly becoming yet another battlefield for the Islamic Republic to consolidate its hegemony throughout the Middle East. Iran’s media outreach, particularly in Arabic, is only likely to increase, especially online. Supreme Leader Khamenei is keen to see more activities do ... more

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A linguagem autoritária: Televisão e persuasão

Maria Tereza Fraga Rocco

São Paulo: Editora Brasiliense (1988), 200 pp.

"Transcrição de sete comerciais e seis programas por Silvio Santos. A partir disto, o autor conclui que o uso autoritário da linguagem que se torna aparente não é espontâneo, mas deliberadamente persuasivo. Coloca as observações no contexto de extensas considerações teóricas." (commbox)