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Transnational repression

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Transnational repression is a type of political repression conducted by a state outside its borders. It often involves targeting political dissidents or critical members of diaspora communities abroad and can take the forms of assassinations and/or enforced disappearances of citizens, among others.[1][2][3] Freedom House has documented its rise worldwide in recent years. Incidents that occur in the United States have been investigated by such agencies as the FBI.[4][5]

International relations scholar Laurie Brand asserts that autocracies face specific challenges and opportunities in the international sphere that affect authoritarian practices. Specifically, the rise of transnationalism and practices that transcend national borders have led autocracies to develop strategies aiming to manage their citizens' migration.[6] According to political scientist Gerasimos Tsourapas, global autocracies engage in complex strategies of transnational repression, legitimation, and co-optation, as well as cooperation with non-state actors.[7] Countries with more robust democracies are much less likely to pursue transnational repression. Some of these countries have been criticized for not doing enough to protect foreign nationals living in their countries.[8] Cooperation between countries has been more common when the two countries have had close economic ties.[8]

The New York Times reported that the frequency of cases of transnational repression worldwide seems to be increasing as of 2024, due in part to some authoritarian governments responding to how globalization and the internet allow for more communication across countries.[9] While this term is relatively new, such repressive actions have been documented for decades.[10] As of 2023, China has been the most active country engaged in transnational repression by a significant margin, accounting for a quarter of all cases documented by Freedom House.[10]

Typology of transnational repression

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Sociologist Dana M. Moss, who coined the term 'transnational repression' in 2016,[11] categorized repression into six types:[12]

Lethal retribution The actual or attempted assassinations of dissidents abroad by regime agents or proxies.
Threats Verbal or written warnings directed to members of the diaspora, including the summoning of individuals by regime officials to their embassies for this purpose.
Surveillance The gathering and sending of information about co-nationals to the state security apparatus by informant networks composed of regime agents, loyalists, and coerced individuals.
Exile The direct and indirect banishment of dissidents from the home country, including when the threat of physical confinement and harm prevents activists from returning.
Withdrawing scholarships The rescinding of students’ state benefits for refusing to participate in regime-mandated actions or organizations abroad.
Proxy punishment The harassment, physical confinement, and/or bodily harm of relatives in the home-country as a means of information-gathering and retribution against dissidents abroad.

Governments accused

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By 2024, some 44 countries have been documented as committing transnational repression, according to Freedom House.[13] The organization noted that it has become a more common practice worldwide.[13] As of 2023, China has been the country most actively engaged in transnational repression by a significant margin.[10][8] According to Freedom House, the most prolific actors involved in transnational repression after China from 2014-2023, were the governments of Turkey, Egypt, Tajikistan, Russia and Uzbekistan.[8] Other nations of concern included Iran, India, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Saudi Arabia.[14]

A 2024 Human Rights Watch report documented 75 cases between 2009 and 2024, which were committed by more than two dozen governments, including Algeria, Bahrain, Belarus, Cambodia,[15] Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, South Sudan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, and the UAE.[16][9]

Countries with more robust democracies are much less likely to pursue transnational repression. Some have been criticised for not doing enough to protect foreign nationals or people of the diasporas living in their countries.[8] Cooperation between countries was more common when the two countries had close economic ties.[8] The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution on October 1, 2024 that defended Julian Assange for his 'journalistic work' and reiterated its condemnation of all forms and practices of transnational repression.[17]

China

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Main articles: Transnational repression by China, Chinese censorship abroad, and Operation Fox Hunt

The Center for American Progress reported in 2022 that some of the most notable transnational repression efforts of the Chinese government, such as the Causeway Bay Books disappearances, have been coordinated by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). The report called for initiatives to better understand the MPS's activities overseas.[18]

In July 2023, the United States Department of State classified the Hong Kong Police Force's bounties on eight prominent dissidents living abroad as an instance of "transnational repression efforts."[19][20]

In April 2023, the United States Department of Justice indicted Chinese operatives for crimes related to a transnational repression campaign using a Chinese police overseas service station in Manhattan.[21][22] Following the indictments, the FBI described seeing an "inflection point in the tactics and tools and the level of risk and the level of threat" in transnational repression.[23]

In March 2022, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken characterized the Chinese government's attempts to silence Uyghur activists outside its borders as part of a campaign of transnational repression.[24][25] A 2023 report published by the University of Sheffield called for increased use of Magnitsky legislation in response to the transnational repression of the Uyghur diaspora.[26] This repression has increased in 2024 according to some Uyghur exiles.[27]

In 2023, The Washington Post reported that China supported violent counterprotestors who attempted to silence criticism of Xi Jinping at the APEC United States 2023 summit in San Francisco.[13] The Index on Censorship has described the Chinese government's attempts to censor artist Badiucao's overseas exhibitions as an example of transnational repression.[28]

As of 2024, Chinese students studying abroad who engaged in political activism against the regime faced harassment and retribution directly or through family members living in China.[29][30][31]

Egypt

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A report by Mohamed Soltan's nonprofit Freedom Initiative stated that Egypt has become "... more innovative and emboldened" in carrying out acts of transnational repression. Actions include targeting dissidents in the United States.[32]

India

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In 2023, the Sikh Coalition wrote to the United States government to warn about Indian transnational repression and rising Hindu nationalist threats in the US in the aftermath of the killing in Canada of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.[33] The Canadian government is investigating what it said were 'credible allegations of a potential link' in Nijjar's death to the Indian government.[34]

Russia

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Main article: Transnational repression by Russia

As of 2024, Russia has focused its repression on anti-war and other political activists as well as journalists; it ranks among the most active perpetrators of transnational repression in the world.[35][36] Russia has a history of transnational repression that was documented in the Tsarist regimes.[9]

Saudi Arabia

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A report by Mohamed Soltan's nonprofit Freedom Initiative stated that, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia has become "... more innovative and emboldened" in carrying out acts of transnational repression.[32] As of 2024, The Guardian reported Saudi Arabia as one of the major perpetrators of transnational repression in the world.[37]

Turkey

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In June 2023, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that Turkey's failure to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid is part of its campaign of transnational repression. It called upon Turkey to end its intimidation of exiled journalist Bülent Keneş and to both recognise and respect the Swedish Supreme Court's decision not to extradite him.[38][39]

Defenses

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United States

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In December 2021, the US passed the Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention (TRAP) Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.[40] The law aims to combat abuse of Interpol notices.[41][42]

In March 2023, a bipartisan group of United States senators introduced the Transnational Repression Policy Act.[43][44][10] The proposed law would mandate that the intelligence community identify and share information about perpetrators of transnational repression operting in the United States.[45] In October 2023, the Government Accountability Office reported that the US does not have adequate laws to combat acts of transnational repression.[46]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Tsourapas, Gerasimos (2019). "A Tightening Grip Abroad: Authoritarian Regimes Target Their Emigrant and Diaspora Communities". Migration Policy Institute. Archived from the original on 2019-11-10.
  2. ^ Baser, Bahar; Ozturk, Ahmet Erdi (2020-07-02). "Positive and Negative Diaspora Governance in Context: From Public Diplomacy to Transnational Authoritarianism". Middle East Critique. 29 (3): 319–334. doi:10.1080/19436149.2020.1770449. ISSN 1943-6149. S2CID 219747605. Archived from the original on 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  3. ^ "Autocracies are exporting autocracy to their diasporas". The Economist. 29 February 2024. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  4. ^ "Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach". Freedom House. Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  5. ^ "Transnational Repression". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  6. ^ Brand, Laurie A. (2006-02-27). Citizens Abroad: Emigration and the State in the Middle East and North Africa (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511491498. ISBN 978-0-521-85805-2. OCLC 967481251.
  7. ^ Tsourapas, Gerasimos (2021). "Global Autocracies: Strategies of Transnational Repression, Legitimation, and Co-Optation in World Politics". International Studies Review. 23 (3): 616–644. doi:10.1093/isr/viaa061.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Medhi, Kashmiri; Cordell, Rebecca (2024-10-25). "Foreign countries are helping autocracies repress exiled dissidents in return for economic gain". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  9. ^ a b c Taub, Amanda (May 17, 2024). "Why a Tactic Used by Czars Is Back With a Vengeance". New York Times.
  10. ^ a b c d Serhan, Yasmeen (2023-10-02). "The Long Arm of Transnational Repression". TIME. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  11. ^ Mackinnon, Amy; Yang, Mary (2024-11-26). "The Booming Export of Authoritarianism". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  12. ^ Moss, Dana M. (2016-09-19). "Transnational Repression, Diaspora Mobilization, and the Case of The Arab Spring". Social Problems. 63 (4): 480–498. doi:10.1093/socpro/spw019. ISSN 0037-7791. JSTOR 26370875.
  13. ^ a b c Philip, Rowan (September 16, 2024). "Investigating State Attacks on Exiles: Lessons from The Washington Post's 'Repression's Long Arm' Series". Global Investigative Journalism Network. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  14. ^ "Defending Democracy in Exile". Freedom House. Archived from the original on 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  15. ^ "Cambodia's Transnational Repression Will Continue Until the World Takes Action". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  16. ^ Sparks, Lily (2024-02-22). ""We Will Find You"". Human Rights Watch.
  17. ^ "European rights body finds prosecution of WikiLeaks' Assange 'politically motivated'-'Transnational repression'". RFI. 2 October 2024. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  18. ^ Link, Jordan (2022-10-17). "The Expanding International Reach of China's Police". Center for American Progress. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  19. ^ "US Slams Hong Kong Bounties As 'Dangerous' Precedent". Barron's. Agence France-Presse. July 3, 2023. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  20. ^ Miller, Matthew (July 3, 2023). "Hong Kong's Extra-Territorial Application of the National Security Law". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  21. ^ De Guzman, Chad (2023-04-18). "U.S. Charges Chinese Operatives With 'Transnational Repression': What to Know". Time. Archived from the original on 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  22. ^ "Man Charged with Transnational Repression Campaign While Acting as an Illegal Agent of the Chinese Government in the United States". United States Department of Justice. 2022-03-30. Archived from the original on 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  23. ^ Mallin, Alexander (April 19, 2023). "FBI raises alarm over 'inflection point' in transnational repression threats". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  24. ^ Snowdon Smith, Zachary (March 21, 2022). "U.S. Will Restrict Visas For Chinese Officials Involved In Uyghur Repression, Blinken Says". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  25. ^ "Promoting Accountability for Transnational Repression Committed by People's Republic of China (PRC) Officials". United States Department of State. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  26. ^ Tobin, David; Elimä, Nyrola (2023-06-01). ""We know you better than you know yourself": China's transnational repression of the Uyghur diaspora". University of Sheffield. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  27. ^ "China ramping up transnational repression, Uyghur exiles in US say". Voice of America. 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  28. ^ "Banned by Beijing: Calling out transnational repression through art". Index on Censorship. Archived from the original on 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  29. ^ "China: Overseas students face harassment and surveillance in campaign of transnational repression". Amnesty International. 2024-05-12. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  30. ^ Lau, Jessie (2024-03-25). "Threats, fear and surveillance: how Beijing targets students in the UK who criticise regime". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  31. ^ Ho-him, Chan; Foster, Peter; Jack, Andrew; Yu, Sun (2024-05-13). "China accused of 'transnational repression' of students". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  32. ^ a b Parker, Claire (2023-04-19). "U.S. allies in Middle East target dissidents on American soil, report says". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  33. ^ Singh, Harman (September 21, 2023). "Re: Concerns of Indian Transnational Repression in the United States" (PDF). Sikh Coalition. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2023.
  34. ^ Kestler-D'Amours, Jillian. "Sikh leaders welcome arrests in Canada activist killing, but questions loom". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  35. ^ Townsend, Mark (2024-02-16). "China, Russia and Cambodia top list of regimes targeting critics in exile". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  36. ^ Pikulicka-Wilczewska, Agnieszka (2024-10-28). "'They want to show no one can escape': how the long arm of Russia is reaching out for Putin critics in exile". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  37. ^ Parent, Deepa; Levitt, Tom (2024-07-18). "UK 'turning a blind eye' to threats to kill Saudi activists living in exile". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  38. ^ Buyuk, Hamdi Firat (2023-06-23). "CoE: Turkey Using Sweden's NATO Membership Bid To Extend Repression". Balkan Insight. Archived from the original on 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  39. ^ "Transnational repression as a growing threat to the rule of law and human rights". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. June 23, 2023. Archived from the original on June 24, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  40. ^ "New Law Protects Those Who Call Out Corruption". Transparency International. December 27, 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  41. ^ "Helsinki Commission Welcomes Passage of Trap Provision in 2022 National Defense Authorization Act". Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. 2021-12-15. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  42. ^ "Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention (TRAP) Act Reports". U.S. Department of State. June 2, 2023. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  43. ^ "China using families as 'hostages' to quash Uyghur dissent abroad". BBC News. 2023-07-30. Archived from the original on 2023-07-31. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  44. ^ "Fighting Beijing's long arm of repression". Radio Free Asia. March 26, 2023. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  45. ^ Weine, Kate (2023-03-24). "US Lawmakers Tackle Transnational Repression". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  46. ^ McKelvey, Tara (October 4, 2023). "US may not have right tools to combat foreign harassment: report". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.

Further reading

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