BREAKING DOWN DEMOCRACY: Goals, Strategies, and Methods of Modern Authoritarians ereignty, they are aligning themselves with a Russian kovych, political consultants, public relations special- leader who has sought to dominate neighboring ists, and blue-chip law firms were earning fees paid states and who regularly invokes his country’s imperial by a majority of the world's autocracies, dictatorships, and Soviet past. Putin has refused to apologize for and illiberal regimes. Some, especially Middle Eastern Russia's historical subjugation of Central and Eastern monarchies, are American allies. But others are hostile Europe. He has defended the Soviet Union's occupa- to democracy and regard the United States—and often tions as necessary to secure its national interests, and the EU—as adversaries. The lobbyists and spin masters denounced the movement of former Soviet bloc coun- they employ are not located exclusively in the United tries to join the EU and seek protection in the North States. Authoritarians with the requisite means and Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). interests have hired representatives in London and Brussels as well as Washington and New York. Far-right parties apparently see Putin not as a threat to national security, but as an exemplar of their own Lawyers and consultants often represent cictator- nationalist values. Like him, they hope to build a ships indirectly, through state-owned enterprises. A strong national state without regard for international number of China’ state businesses have hired legal agreements, domestic checks and balances, or funda- and political consultants in major democracies, as mental human rights. Putin's contempt for democracy have state energy corporations in oil-rich countries carries no stigma among these parties, for which like Azerbaijan, Venezuela, and Angola. elections and civil liberties are purely instrumental. While Le Pen, Wilders, and their ilk need elections as But authoritarian governments generally seek