Helping a f(r)iend in need? Rethinking the role of linkages in authoritarian covert repression

Covert repression techniques, such as the use of digital technologies in surveillance, censorship and disinformation, have become a pervasive tool of autocracies worldwide. This research note discusses one of the possible explanatory factors fostering covert repression: autocratic linkages. Building on policy-learning, autocratic regional integration and linkages literature, this research note asks the following question: How can strong linkages with each other help autocracies achieve high levels of covert repression? By using Kazakhstan as a typical case of an informational autocracy, three possible causal channels through which autocratic linkages could impact covert repression are proposed: policy-learning, preferential trade in repression tech and preferential provision of expertise. In doing so, the note aims to encourage more comparative and process-tracing-based research on the role of autocratic linkages in authoritarian repression.