Transnational Repression and its Impact on the Global Order: China and Russia as Perpetrator States

Our next FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium will be held on 31 October 2025 from 6 to 7:30 pm and will feature Dr. Teng Biao and Polina Kurakina as speakers and Prof. Dr. Eva Pils as chair. Please find the details below.

Description

Transnational repression is an increasing threat to international human rights, freedom and the quality of democracy. China and Russia are well-known perpetrators of transnational repression. Their campaigns involve disinformation, surveillance, harassment, assaults, and kidnapping, aiming to silence dissent, intimidate critics, and suppress free expression in other countries. Against the background of global autocratisation and digital technologies, both China's and Russia's extraterritorial coercion will profoundly challenge the global order.

Speakers Bio

Teng Biao is a human rights lawyer and a Visiting Fellow at the Chair for Human Rights Law, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). He holds a PhD in law from Peking University and has previously served as Lecturer at the China University of Politics and Law in Beijing, Pozen Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago, Hauser Human Rights Scholar at Hunter College (City University of New York), and as a visiting fellow at the New York University, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. Dr. Teng co-founded two human rights NGOs in Beijing – the Open Constitution Initiative in 2003 and China Against the Death Penalty in 2010. His current research covers China’s human rights, social movements, law and politics, and transnational repression. His Visiting Fellowship at FAU is made possible by support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Polina Kurakina is an international litigation lawyer and advocacy specialist at OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights media project aimed at combating political persecution. As a practitioner, she has worked on a wide range of projects related to human rights in Russia, particularly focusing on freedom of speech, assembly, and association. She has participated in high-profile complaints before the Russian Constitutional Court, including a campaign against laws criminalising anti-war speech.

Disclaimer/Media Notice

Photos and/or videos may be taken during this event for FAU CHREN’s documentation and public outreach (e.g., website, social media). By attending, you consent to this use — unless you inform us otherwise in advance or during the event. If you do not wish to appear in photos or videos, please let the organizing team know in advance or upon arrival.

☑️ RSVP

If you are planning to attend, please reserve a place by email to nathalie.schneider@fau.de and fabian.krause@fau.de. Thank you!