🔎 What was tested

Many assume authoritarian systems have limited global appeal. The central argument tested here is that global audiences will embrace authoritarian models when they believe autocracies can meet governance challenges better than democracies.

📡 How government messages were compared

Comprehensive data were collected on the external messaging of the Chinese and American governments. Real messages from both governments’ external media arms were gathered to represent how each state presents itself internationally.

🧪 How the experiment worked

• A randomized experiment was conducted in 19 countries across six continents.
• Global citizens were exposed to a representative set of real messages from Chinese and American external media outlets.
• The design measured changes in perceptions of governance and model preference after exposure.

🔑 Key findings

• Exposure to the Chinese messages strengthened perceptions that the Chinese Communist Party delivers: growth, stability, and competent leadership.
• On average, respondents shifted from a slight preference for the American model to a slight preference for the Chinese model after exposure to Chinese messages.
• In direct, head-to-head comparisons, messages from the US government were less persuasive than Chinese messages.

🌍 Why it matters

These results show a clear mechanism by which autocracies can cultivate global support: selling economic performance and governance competence. That dynamic has important implications for democratic resilience, as international perceptions of competence and stability can shift preferences toward authoritarian models.