Authoritarian states use new and old tactics to counter democracy

Authoritarian states have long employed anti-democratic tactics like domestic repression, counter-discourse against international norms, alliances with other authoritarian states to undermine international scrutiny, and the establishment of GONGOs (government-sponsored organizations set up to appear like NGOs) to replace genuine civil society participation in multilateral fora, said Katrin Kinzelbach at the 8^th Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy. According to Kinzelbach, a newer and still understudied phenomenon is authoritarian funding for news outlets and research institutes to influence debates within democracies.