Elite Networks and the Transregional Dimension of Authoritarianism: Sino-Emirati Relations in Times of a Global Pandemic

Gurol J, Zumbrägel T, Demmelhuber T (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Journal of Contemporary China Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

DOI: 10.1080/10670564.2022.2052444

Abstract

Scholarly debates on Chinese foreign policy in the Middle East and the international dimension of authoritarianism have gained momentum since Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. At the same time, the global pandemic provided a window of opportunity to autocrats worldwide to fine-tune their modes of surveillance for the sake of regime survival. This article deconstructs Sino-Emirati relations in the field of digital surveillance. Inspired by Social Network Theory, we explore three transregional public-private elite networks as multipliers for the traveling of authoritarian practices. We show that authoritarian diffusion under the umbrella of fighting the pandemic is not spatially bound to geopolitical proximity or other structural similarities but rather a global phenomenon that state and non-state actors reproduce.

Authors with CRIS profile

Thomas Demmelhuber Lehrstuhl für Politik und Gesellschaft des Nahen Ostens

Related research project(s)

Global autocratic collaboration in times of COVID-19: Game changer or business as usual in Sino-Gulf relations? Feb. 1, 2021 - Jan. 31, 2023

Involved external institutions

Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) DE Germany (DE) Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Gurol, J., Zumbrägel, T., & Demmelhuber, T. (2022). Elite Networks and the Transregional Dimension of Authoritarianism: Sino-Emirati Relations in Times of a Global Pandemic. Journal of Contemporary China. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2022.2052444

MLA:

Gurol, Julia, Tobias Zumbrägel, and Thomas Demmelhuber. "Elite Networks and the Transregional Dimension of Authoritarianism: Sino-Emirati Relations in Times of a Global Pandemic." Journal of Contemporary China (2022).

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