Bush Institute warns China, Russia, Iran and North Korea threaten democracy

China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are not a single bloc, but the George W. Bush Institute said their coordination still poses a direct threat to democratic institutions, global security, mineral supply chains and human rights. The institute’s June 9 report argues that the four countries, known as CRINK, are weakening the global rules-based system and testing the credibility of U.S. leadership at a moment when democratic governments are already under strain.

The report draws a sharp distinction between the countries’ roles. Russia is singled out for targeting civilians in Ukraine, while China, Iran and North Korea are described as engaging in transnational repression against dissidents beyond their borders. The Bush Institute said the four governments also undermine the effectiveness of international organizations and erode norms long championed by the United States.

Rather than describing a tightly bound alliance, the report frames CRINK as a transactional grouping shaped by unequal power. China and Russia dominate agenda-setting because of their economic strength, nuclear capabilities and, in Russia’s case, a veto on the United Nations Security Council. North Korea and Iran have less influence, a gap that the institute says can create mistrust and internal division even as the four states share an interest in weakening democratic systems.

The policy prescriptions are aimed at that mix of pressure and opportunism. The Bush Institute called for stronger sanctions enforcement, more use of soft power, clearer democratic narratives, tighter alliances, secure semiconductor and critical mineral supply chains, and continued support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The warning lands against a broader slide in democratic conditions. Freedom House said global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025, with 54 countries seeing deterioration in political rights and civil liberties and 35 improving. It said a majority of the world’s population now lives in countries that are not fully free, and that 19 Partly Free countries have fallen to Not Free since 2005.

The report also carries a personal dimension through Joseph Kim, now a Bush Institute program manager. Kim was born and raised in North Korea, escaped to China in 2006 and later came to the United States under the North Korean Human Rights Act signed by George W. Bush in 2004. Along with Igor Khrestin, he is part of the institute’s ongoing effort to map how CRINK pressures U.S. allies and democratic institutions, while showing that authoritarian regimes can coordinate without ever fully trusting one another.