The Russia as a Precursor of illiberalism Initiative centers Russia as a key player in the rise and spread of illiberalism globally. It positions Russia as an active source of ideology via its engagement with receptive actors at both the local and elite levels, as a passive source of ideological inspiration which other actors seek to emulate, and as a general global force in advancing post-liberal meaning-making. This series illuminates the context specific ways in which Russia contributes to the advance of illiberalism both by speaking to different audiences (e.g., from traditionally leaning voters of far-right parties in the West to anticolonial audiences in the Global South) as well as the means by which it engages those audiences in digital spaces, literature, culture, and institutions.
