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The Authoritarian Collaboration Index, for example, traces the evolution of relations between Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage, and Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National, which have formalised a partnership with a commitment to tackle immigration together in the run-up to a possible election victory. The two parties agree that sovereignty takes precedence over international law, including the European Convention on Human Rights.

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Another revelation is that the AfD, Germany’s far-right party, has been dependent on Russian funding since 2016, but the flow of money has increased over the last six months and the link with Moscow has intensified in tandem with their electoral success. Following the AfD’s recent victories in the local elections in Saxony-Anhalt, “Russia’s support has gone far beyond traditional funding, evolving into a close dialogue that recognises the AfD’s importance as a future governing party”.

These parties, which also include Vox in Spain, have not formed a single bloc but prefer to strengthen bilateral ties, which give them greater legitimacy, whilst employing common tactics and methods.

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“What emerges from the report is that an increasingly dense network of collaboration is forming between governments, parties and authoritarian movements at a global level, one that utilises every possible means of repression,” explained Domonkos Kovacs, head of the Authoritarian Collaboration Index and director of Action for Democracy. “ ‘These movements used to be isolationist, but they have now learnt to collaborate using technology and social media. The only possible response is to establish an equally intensive collaboration between democratic parties, governments and movements.’

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Beyond Europe

Looking beyond Europe, the report emphasises that ‘although China and Russia remain the main pillars of the global axis of autocracy, other states are playing an active role in exporting surveillance and control tactics to Africa and South-East Asia’.

At the presentation, Jesus Armas, the former leader of the opposition in Venezuela, who was imprisoned and tortured for a long time by Nicolás Maduro’s government, said that his country still has a long way to go before it can return to democracy, but that Maria Corina Machado’s recent return home bodes well.

Carmen Lau, a Chinese dissident living in exile in the UK with a $1 million bounty on her head imposed by the Hong Kong Government, highlighted just how pervasive Beijing’s global influence is and criticised the British Government for failing to speak out against the repressive regime in its former colony.

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