GZERO World Clips

How China & Russia exploit civil unrest as democracy’s failure

How China & Russia Exploit Civil Unrest As Democracy’s Failure | Anne Applebaum | GZERO World

A tried-and-true argument that autocrats frequently make to their constituents isn't so much that life is amazing at home, but that it's just as bad elsewhere. That's according to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum, who joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to unpack the enduring allure of authoritarianism around the world. "Everything that goes wrong inside the United States or in Scandinavia or in Southern Europe is immediately beamed back to Russians in the form of state propaganda," Applebaum says.

Watch the episode: Authoritarianism's Enduring Appeal: Anne Applebaum Discusses

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US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026.
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