Authoritarian Alliances: an alternative world order in the making or just marriages of convenience?

Authoritarian alliances: an alternative world order in the making or just marriages of convenience?

This Ditchley conference, held in partnership with American Ditchley, explored whether a new authoritarian world order is emerging and how democratic countries should respond to the resulting dilemmas and threats. The backdrop was the increasing global trend of authoritarianism and the characterisation of alliances as a distinction between 'rule of law states' and authoritarians. The central example discussed was the "friendship without limits" between China and Russia. Discussion focused on whether authoritarian alliances were formal and ideological, or pragmatic and temporary. China's geopolitical role, particularly its extensive engagement and use of soft power in the Global South, was a key topic, alongside the roles of India and Southeast Asia as alternative centres of strategic power. A major challenge for Western alliances is coordinating and adapting engagement to offer a viable, beneficial alternative to China for developing countries. Participants highlighted the need for coordination between democratic allies to counter authoritarian influence and for effective deterrence on issues like a potential conflict over Taiwan. Key recommendations included a need for the West to reconsider its offer to the Global South, increased leverage of International Financial Institutions like the World Bank to counter initiatives like the Belt & Road, and greater coordination of industrial policies among key partners. Despite concerns, there was a range of views on the ultimate coherence and threat posed by authoritarian alliances, with the argument that there is still time for effective democratic coordination.