As in Europe, Authoritarians in Asia Are Emboldened

A recent Washington Post article primarily focuses on the autocratic Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán but also discusses several other authoritarian figures, mainly in Europe. The article notes that these authoritarians feel emboldened by the White House’s signals that they are not interested in condemning or pushing back against the actions of leaders like Orban.

So, in Europe, Orbán, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Serbia’s increasingly autocratic leader Aleksandar Vučić, and others are taking their most authoritarian actions yet against opposition, media, and civil society, knowing the United States does not care. Erdoğan, for instance, arrested his main competitor in the next presidential elections, the popular mayor of Istanbul. Orbán, always intolerant of LGBTQ people and its movement, has now canceled Hungary’s pride parade, which, according to the Post, he did not in the past because he feared intense criticism from the U.S. ambassador.

The Post notes, in another example, “Erdoğan, critics say, is also laying the groundwork for a fresh assault on minority rights. Kerem Dikmen, human rights program coordinator at Kaos GL, a Turkish LGBTQ+ group, said the organization had obtained a draft of a bill that would impose sentences of up to three years on individuals who do not behave in public according to their biological sex. It would also make it a crime to officiate same-sex weddings, Dikmen said.”

This same dynamic is also playing out in Asia, where the United States' lack of interest in democracy has empowered autocrats and elected leaders who have already overseen democratic regression. They know that top U.S. leaders, including the president, will not press them on rights issues. The Trump administration is rapidly cutting off funds for democracy promotion organizations and U.S. media that provide independent coverage of their countries.

For instance, in Cambodia, autocratic leader Hun Manet has increased his crackdown on domestic and foreign journalists in recent months. He has done so while also welcoming the top commander in the U.S. Pacific forces to Phnom Penh as the United States tries to rebuild relations with the country despite its serious and growing rights abuses.

Over in Myanmar, the Trump administration has publicly continued to support Biden-era sanctions on the regime, at least for now. But the junta, which had been facing steep losses to varied opposition forces, indeed must be celebrating the cutoff of non-lethal U.S. support to some of the rebel forces as the White House slashes all foreign assistance. That reduction in support could help the junta prolong its hold on power and be a factor in switching the momentum of the civil war.

In North Korea, the state news outlet blusters about a recent U.S.-South Korea exercise. Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un surely remembers Trump’s unusual interest in him and potentially warming relations with the North, one of the most brutal regimes on earth. This month, Trump again told reporters he had good relations with Kim.

India’s leadership also seems thrilled by Trump’s victory and disinterest in rights. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been elected multiple times while also overseeing a crackdown on minority rights and the destruction of critical democratic guardrails, formed a close bond with Trump during his first term. Modi and his party have already welcomed Trump back warmly, and Trump has reciprocated. When Modi visited Washington in February to meet Trump, the bilateral ended with significant gains for India. These included a boost in U.S. military sales, plans for a trade deal and closer defense cooperation, and no talk of rights at all, just the way Modi and even more authoritarian leaders in Asia like it.

This publication is part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy.