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Larry Diamond Stresses the Need to Repel China’s Sharp Power

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Published November 30, 2021

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is making covert, coercive, and corruptive efforts to pressure and sway opinion and policy in many societies. Countries around the world must understand the reality of these sharp-power activities. Increased awareness will lead to greater capacity to detect, recognize, and expose illegitimate PRC activities.

Additional Resources:

  • Watch “Democracy, Good Governance, and Pluralism,” with Larry Diamond, via the Hoover Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region. Available here.
  • Watch “Larry Diamond Calls on Democracies to Resist China’s Global Power,” on PolicyEd. Available here.
  • Watch “Elizabeth Economy Expounds on US Foreign Policy Relations with China,” on PolicyEd. Available here.
View Transcript

I would just stress the need for vigilance in terms of making countries better able to repel China’s sharp power influence activities. First of all, to build awareness and understanding in societies around the world that are the targets of PRC influence activities, which is most societies in the world! We need vigilance in terms of the capacity to detect, to recognize and expose illegitimate PRC influence activities, efforts to pressure and sway opinion and policy by means that are covert, coercive, or corrupting. That is really the definition of sharp power.