Resisting InterScalar Authoritarian Networks and Coalitions

The global growth of the autocratic appeal has sparked much scholarly work and policy action. Yet we still do not fully understand its drivers, or how to combat its multiple manifestations, e.g. digital authoritarianism, anti-gender politics, and disinformation. RESISTANCE responds to the need for new exploitable knowledge with a novel Interscalar Framework that for the first time explains how authoritarian ideas, institutions, technologies, and policies spread through the interaction of local, national, and transnational actors. An in-depth study of any context where authoritarianism is taking hold reveals variegated autocratic appeal coalitions and democratic resistance coalitions that go below, above and beyond the state – making an interscalar approach necessary.RESISTANCE integrates political science and human geography insights to develop a new way of understanding, studying and tackling Interscalar Authoritarianism that shows how these coalitions operate across multiple levels. Breaking new empirical and methodological ground, we operationalise a site-based approach that marries survey-based research and network analysis to multi-level fieldwork in and beyond Europe, including Grünheide, Istanbul, Belgrade and Accra.Our consortium of leading universities and stakeholder organizations will co-create knowledge and policy lessons in the form of an Interscalar Resistance Toolkit, including an early warning system – the Interscalar Authoritarian Risk Observatory (IARO), an interactive Resistance Playbook with targeted tactics for public authorities, CSOs, and journalists to weaken autocratic appeal coalitions and strengthen democratic resistance ones, and a Resistance Network of global stakeholders that refine and implement them. Our powerful dissemination networks and creative communication strategy, including videos, media stories, and a podcast will reach over 40,000 beneficiaries, improving how policymakers, journalists and CSOs respond to autocratic appeal.