THE AUTHORITARIAN POLITICAL REGIME OF CHINA AND THE EXPANSION OF AUTHORITARIANISM AS OBSTACLES TO ACHIEVING GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

Abstract

The article identifies a set of factors through which the authoritarian political regime and the expansion of authoritarianism limit China's potential to achieve its declared strategic goal of global leadership. The least attractive political and legal patterns for countries on the path to democratization include the following: the immutability and concentration of power, imaginary constitutionalism, suppression of opposition and competition, high levels of government corruption, territorial claims against neighboring states and regional instability, systematic restrictions and violations of human rights and freedoms, state interference in the economy, and environmental challenges.