Research on transnational repression

Defending Democracy in Exile: Policy Responses to Transnational Repression, report by Freedom House

Freedom House is engaged in a multiyear study of transnational repression. Its latest report, Defending Democracy in Exile, published in June 2022, examines what is being done to protect exiles and diaspora members who are being intimidated and attacked by the governments from which they fled. The report assesses the responses mounted by host governments, international organizations, and technology companies. It builds on the findings of Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach: The Global Scale and Scope of Transnational Repression—the first global study of this dangerous practice, which Freedom House released in February 2021.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Q_9IUosCE&t=71s [video]
• https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression [overview and report]

Silencing Across Borders: Transnational Repression and Digital Threats Against Exiled Activists, report by Marcus Michaelsen

Marcus Michaelsen’s report examines the online efforts of authoritarian regimes to intimidate activists living abroad. Hivos is proud to have acted as a host organization for the one-year research project leading to the publication of this report. What tools actually exist in these new digital “toolkits” of transnational repression? And how successful are they in disrupting cross-border information flows? Using the online efforts of Syria and Iran as examples, Marcus Michaelsen set out to find answers.

https://hivos.org/the-silencing-effect-of-digital-transnational-repression/ [overview and report]

Psychological and Emotional War: Digital Transnational Repression in Canada, report by Citizen Lab

In this report, we describe how Canadian activists and dissidents living in exile in Canada are impacted by digital transnational repression. We conclude that digital transnational repression has a serious impact on these communities, including their ability to undertake transnational advocacy work related to human rights.

https://citizenlab.ca/2022/03/psychological-emotional-war-digital-transnational-repression-canada/ [video, overview and report]

Responding to Transnational Repression [video] - recorded panel discussion from Dec 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D4EjMq5FK4

Going after the family: Transnational repression and the proxy punishment of Middle Eastern diasporas, article co-authored with Dana M. Moss & Gillian Kennedy. Available here (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glob.12372) via institutions or for purchase

The Arab Spring Abroad: Diaspora Activism against Authoritarian Regimes, book by Dana Moss. You can download this book for free here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/arab-spring-abroad/D7EC15ED46D37A2DB8CDDB83F06CC591#overview

Transnational Repression: The Long Arm of Authoritarianism (parts 1 and 2) - recorded panel discussion from Sept/Oct 2022. Watch the videos here https://www.orionpolicy.org/orionforum/111/transnational-repression-the-long-arm-of-authoritarianism

Resisting Digital Authoritarianism - a recorded panel discussion from the Resistance Bureau. This show will therefore bring together thought leaders, digital activists, and those who have been spied on themselves to discuss these threats to freedom and how they can be effectively countered. What can be done to push back against the expansion of digital surveillance? And how can we protect citizens’ basic human rights from governments that are clearly determined to hack into their lives and monitor their every move?

Watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg3CQXEe7K0