The Russian model – Do Russia and China provide an alternative to liberal democracy?

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The current political systems in Russia and China have been called authoritarian capitalism. If that assertion is fair, is this type of government a viable rival for liberal democracy?

Freedom House fears the Chinese and Russian efforts to project their model and influence abroad, and finds this to be enough grounds to accuse Russia and China of irresponsible international behavior: "China and Russia are also actively exerting influence abroad.

China, for example, provides material and political support to odious regimes in Sudan, Burma, North Korea and Zimbabwe. Russia, for its part, works to undermine nascent democratic reform in neighboring countries such as Georgia and Ukraine. Energy plays a pivotal role in these countries' international approaches. Russia, rich in crude oil and natural gas, exerts influence in neighboring former Soviet states by using its energy resources to subsidize politically friendly, autocratic countries and pressure states that display disloyalty to the Kremlin. Energy hungry Beijing, on the other hand, is scouring the globe in pursuit of oil and gas to fuel its economy, and is willing to do whatever it takes to enter into energy deals with some of the world's worst governments. There is little to suggest that the government in either one of these countries is yet prepared to act consistently as a 'responsible stakeholder' on the international stage."

This does not appear to be fair - Russia and China have been acting quite responsibly on the international scene, working quietly to defuse major political crises by exercising multilateral diplomacy, as opposed to Washington's preference for a unilateral use of force. The case of Iraq clearly undermines the U.S. claim to being a responsible international stakeholder.

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