Description
This paper concerns evolving tactics of transnational repression (TNR) as practised by differing regime types. TNR consists of "employing a toolbox of diverse and aggressive tactics to control their citizens, or sometimes even non-citizens, abroad" (Freedom House). Systematic tactics -- direct attacks, long-distance threats, mobility controls, and manipulation of institutions in other countries -- rely on intentional intimidation to silence critical voices, undermine rule of law, and ultimately affect democratic values. Conventionally practised by authoritarian states, academic discourse on TNR tactics rightly urges democracies to enact policies to combat this. However, beyond developing resilience to TNR, democracies may resort to subsets of TNR under certain domestic political conditions. Comparing evidence from China and India and focusing specifically on non-physical TNR: (a) long distance threats (coercion-by-proxy, digital threat, and spyware) and (b) mobility controls (passport or overseas citizenship revocation), this paper analyses why and when certain TNR tactics are adopted by democracies where electorally legitimated political projects of authoritarian populists are ascendant and face a legitimacy threat from dissent in diaspora. A comparative/contrastive analysis of these selectively convergent dynamics across world's largest authoritarian state and world's largest democracy can strategically assist us in defending democratic values through an empirical indexing of TNR complexity and spread.
