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West's Divisions Empowering China and Russia, Analysts Warn

Jamie Dettmer

   China and Russia believe they can behave as they want and have impunity
   to crush dissent because Western states are at odds with themselves and
   have lost confidence in their ability to shape the world around them,
   warn analysts.

   "There is a danger that we in the West are becoming bystanders to the
   great events swirling around the globe. Our inability to articulate a
   clear response that generates a change in behavior means a sense of
   impunity dominates," argued Rafaello Pantucci, director of
   international security studies at Britain's Royal United Services
   Institute.

   Writing in Britain's The Times newspaper, Pantucci said, "Our responses
   to the current protests going on in Hong Kong and Moscow are the
   clearest articulations of this problem. Beijing and Moscow have largely
   behaved as they would like."

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