Does the public in a rising authoritarian power overestimate their country’s reputation, power, and influence? This research uses three studies conducted around and after the COVID-19 pandemic to document whether Chinese citizens overestimate China’s global reputation and soft power, and whether simple information about actual international opinion can correct those perceptions and influence related evaluations.
This study examines whether visits by the Catholic pope lead host governments to improve human rights, and how a small theocracy like the Vatican can exert disproportionate political influence internationally.
This article asks whether a democratic middle power — Germany — uses high‑level visits to help democratic durability in other countries during periods of domestic instability. Using a novel dataset of German chancellor visits from 1991–2023, the authors assess whether Germany’s visits are more likely when host countries face internal turbulence and whether regime type and party politics shape that responsiveness.