Epstein Secrets

In addition, various political figures and commentators have praised or come to the defense of despotic rulers including Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Bashar al-Assad. 6. Modem authoritarians can be expected to dou- ble down on their drive to neuter civil society as an incubator of reformist ideas and political

o defend embattled allies like Syria's 8ashar al-Assad. There is also growing replica- tion of what migh

at Democracy," Bloomberg View, December 31, 2015, bttowitwww Woombem rnm/view/Prtirles/7015.12.11/pnlanrl-s-now-learlars-tpka-aim-at-APmnrrary. 17. Alison Smale and Joanna Berendt "Poland's Conservative Government Puts Curbs on State TV News" New York Times July 3 2016, vivAvireedornhouse.org 39 EFTA00804

ce with respect to the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and a stabilizing force with respect to keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in place in the absence of any attractive alternatives. Syria would not have made as much progress in pushing back ISIL and the rebels without Russia

istina Peterson, “House Passes 9/11 Bill That Would Let Victims’ Families Sue Saudi Arabia,” Wall Street Journal, September 9, 2016. elissa Eddy and Alison Smale, “Berlin Crash ls Suspected to Bea Terror Attack, Police Say,” New York Times, December 19, 2016. Tom Burgis, Arthur Beesley and Anne-Sylvaine Chas

ns like the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Organization of American States, and to defend embattled allies like Syria's Bashar al-Assad. There is also growing replica- tion of what might be called authoritarian best practices, vividly on display in the new Chinese law on nongovernment

t Democracy,” Bloomberg View, December 31, 2015, https://www.bloomberg. com/view/articles/2015-12-31/poland-s-new-leaders-take-aim-at-democracy. 17. Alison Smale and Joanna Berendt, “Poland's Conservative Government Puts Curbs on State TV News,” New York Times, July 3, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/w