The rise of authoritarian alliances and shifting global power dynamics during the Russia-Ukraine war

Abstract

The Russia–Ukraine war has reshaped global power dynamics by strengthening cooperation among the authoritarian states such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Bound by shared resistance to Western sanctions and NATO’s expansion, these countries have developed an informal yet cohesive alliance that challenges the liberal international order. Rather than claiming that the Russia–Ukraine war created authoritarian cooperation from the beginning, this study argues that the war accelerated and reorganized pre-existing patterns of coordination among these states. Its main contribution is to identify how post-2022 cooperation has intensified through three connected mechanisms: sanctions adaptation, diplomatic shielding, and selective military-technological exchange. By focusing on these mechanisms, the study clarifies how authoritarian coordination has become more visible and strategically consequential after the war, while also remaining limited by internal contradictions, asymmetric interests, and historical mistrust.