Innovators and Emulators: China and Russia’s Compounding Influence on Digital Censorship

Abstract

This article examines the overlapping influence of China in Russia and five countries that have experienced democratic backsliding: Azerbaijan, Nicaragua, Serbia, Turkey, and Uganda. Drawing on a wide range of data sources, including media watchdog reports, key informant interviews, and quantitative data, the paper maps the portfolio of specific digital censorship tools – legislative, institutional, and technological—that governments in China and Russia use to censor their domestic digital content. Then the digital censorship tools in the five case study countries are documented to examine where their governments’ tactics overlapped with those of the Kremlin and Beijing. These case study countries differ in their levels of development and democracy, with Russia, China, and the West all vying for influence. Key findings include the importance of timing when installing a digital censorship regime, and that Uganda and Nicaragua stand out among the case study countries.