Exiles and Diasporas in the Crosshairs of Authoritarian States – Nate Schenkkan on the Rise of Transnational Repression and What Can Be Done to Counter It

We are thrilled to bring you the next episode of our monthly special in cooperation with the Journal of Democracy. Inthe framework of this new partnership, our editors discuss outstanding articles from the newest print issue of the journal with their authors.

In this discussion with Nate Schenkkan, an independentauthority on human rights and global authoritarianism and former senior director of research at Freedom House,we examine the growing issue of transnationalrepression—a practice wherein states pursue individuals and groups beyond their own borders whom they regard as threats to those in power. Although much of the international public’s awareness stems from prominent incidents such asthe assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, our discussion underscores the significance of more routine methods, including digital intimidation and attempts to suppress dissent among diaspora communities. We examine the factors that contribute to the rise of transnational repression and outline strategies to protecttargets, such as digital security, diaspora organizing, and theimportance of local-level initiatives in building community defenses against state harassment.