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In an era teeming with global crisis liberal democracy is looking increasingly fragile.
According to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, this is not simply due to social forces like rising inequality, cultural polarisation, or social media-driven disinformation.
Rather, it's the consequence of something far more insidious - an international alliance of autocrats working collectively to undermine democratic societies.
Speaking with Sunday Morning's Jim Mora, Applebaum discussed her latest book, Autocracy, Inc., which reveals how modern dictatorships no longer act alone.
"There is now, in effect, a network of dictatorships-communist China, nationalist Russia, autocratic Iran-that have learned to work together economically, politically, but also in the field of information and propaganda," she said.
This coalition of authoritarian regimes is not united by ideology. Instead, she said, they share a common enemy - liberal democracy.
Buying influence
At the heart of her book, said Applebaum, is the idea that today's authoritarian states are wielding vast financial resources to undermine democratic institutions.
"The autocratic world spends a huge amount of money on information," Applebaum said.
"Not just official TV channels like RT, but also covert information laundering websites that appear to be from Ecuador or Argentina but are really written in Russia."
But it's not just media manipulation.
Authoritarian regimes are buying influence directly through investments, think tanks, lobbying, and even ownership of sports teams.
The goal is to blur the lines between national interest and private enterprise, making liberal societies unwitting participants in their own corrosion.
One example Applebaum pointed to was China's acquisition of a container port in Poland.
While it may have seemed like a neutral business decision, during the war in Ukraine, it posed a significant security risk. The Chinese government could potentially monitor and control what supplies were flowing into the region.
"That has strategic implications," Applebaum warned, noting that the once-prevailing belief that economics could be apolitical "is over."
Democracy in the age of disinformation
While autocracies are cooperating, liberal democracies are faltering under the weight of their internal divisions.
A problem compounded by social media, which thrives on outrage and conspiracy.
The sheer scale of disinformation, much of it from foreign states but echoed by domestic actors, is eroding the foundations of democratic debate.
"Democracy really only functions if you can have a public debate conducted according to some kind of rules," said Applebaum.
But when there's no shared reality, democratic compromise becomes nearly impossible.
Beyond left and right
Autocrats, said Applebaum, are nothing if not ideologically flexible.
Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, China's Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and Iran's theocrats may have different political branding, but they are united in their disdain for liberal democracy.
"The far left and the far right are very happy to work together," said Applebaum.
What matters most to these regimes is control.
Liberal concepts like the rule of law, free expression, and checks on power threaten the very foundations of authoritarian rule.
"Both sides have come to an agreement that the real enemy is not one another. The real enemy is liberal democracy."
A three-point plan
So, how can democracy fight back? Applebaum offers a three-pronged approach:
- Regulate the internet: Not through censorship, but through rules that promote transparency and accountability to support good-faith debate online.
- Tackle financial corruption: It is too easy for autocrats to stash illicit wealth and buy influence. We need greater financial transparency and enforcement.
- Build strategic coalitions: Just as autocracies are coordinating, democracies must do the same. This means reassessing dysfunctional institutions and forming new partnerships to counter authoritarian expansion.
Strong but brittle: The fragile future of modern dictatorships
Despite their growing influence, said Applebaum, autocracies are not invulnerable.
Their core weakness is their illegitimacy.
Beneath the façade of unity and control lies fear - fear of their own people and fear of democratic ideas.
"The ideals of democracy are intuitively appealing to people," she said.
This is not lost on the dictators themselves.
In 2013, the Chinese Communist Party issued an internal document naming Western constitutional government as the top threat to its survival. These regimes know that once democratic ideas take root, they can be difficult to extinguish.
Autocracy, in Applebaum's view, is a system built for survival, but not for progress.
Its lack of moral legitimacy, reliance on repression, and inability to deliver lasting prosperity may eventually be its undoing.
But if liberal democracy is to survive, she said, it must respond to the coordinated threat now facing it.
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