While democracies have been preoccupied with internal challenges, the authoritarian regimes in Russia, China, and other countries have pushed boundaries to exert greater influence abroad. These regimes are chipping away at the rules-based system that’s integral to the health of democracy and human rights through systematic actions in international institutions and engagement across a wide range of sectors.

Democracies must simultaneously address their own weaknesses and protect their institutions from external threats in mutually reinforcing ways if they want to prevent authoritarian rivals from making a world safer for autocracy.