The Ethics of Responding to Rising Global Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is rising globally. According to the latest V-Dem Institute Democracy Report, the democratic gains made over the past 30 years have been eroded, with 71% of the world’s population now living in autocracies, an increase from 48% in 2013. Many former liberal democracies (such as Hungary, India, Tanzania, and Turkey) have elected populist, right-wing governments that have undermined civil and political rights, such as by weakening judicial independence and violating LGTBQIA+ rights. At the same time, authoritarian powers that reject liberal democratic values have been rising in influence. Rising global authoritarianism also has a transnational element, with authoritarian actors working together in transnational partnerships, including partnerships between political leaders (such as between Viktor Orbán, Donald Trump, and Marine Le Pen) and international gatherings of conservative and far-right actors (such as at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)). What should be done in response? Although recent work in political philosophy has considered how to counteract authoritarian practices domestically, on how to frustrate and block authoritarian movements within your own state, political philosophers have not addressed the justifiability of potential responses to rising global authoritarianism, tackling democratic backsliding and authoritarian shifts in other states and challenging the rising influence of authoritarian actors globally. Our project will therefore help to understand much more fully the ethics of the potential responses to rising global authoritarianism by liberal actors, including individuals, civil society actors, liberal democratic states (both in the Global South and the West), and regional and international institutions. It will offer a two-level analysis of both more ideal responses and nonideal responses relevant for an even more problematic global order. The responses range from developing new forms of international leverage and increasing military capabilities, to using means such as cyber-attacks and coercive economic responses that could potentially compromise liberal values. Each form of response raises vexing ethical issues that will be the focus of the project, including the following: Should liberal actors use means of ‘militant democracy’ applied internationally to respond to global authoritarianism, even if this will undermine ideals of liberal integrity? Should military spending be increased to tackle threats to liberal states? Which liberal actors (e.g. liberal governments, civil society organisations, political parties, and individuals) have rights and potentially weighty duties to respond to rising global authoritarianism? Should tackling global authoritarianism be prioritised over other goals, such as responding to global poverty and climate change? The project team will comprise Pattison (PL) and Hjorthen (PcL). It will contribute to the fields of political philosophy and International Relations on how to respond to rising authoritarianism and aim to assist practitioners in their efforts to respond to authoritarians. The project will lead to a jointly authored monograph and two academic papers, as well as a policy brief, a podcast series, a series of short videos (distributed via Tik Tok and YouTube Shorts), and a policy-focused workshop aimed at influencing policymakers.