Uncover Surveillance Transfer: How Governments Assist other Governments to Develop Surveillance Powers

Countries with the largest defence and security sectors are transferring legislation, capabilities, and practices to governments and agencies around the world, including to some of the most authoritarian countries in the world.

Countries with the largest defence and security sectors are transferring legislation, capabilities, and practices to governments and agencies around the world, including to some of the most authoritarian countries in the world. The US, Germany, France, Russia, and the UK are all major providers of such security assistance, as is the European Union and other multilateral organisations. Similarly, China and Russia are both pursuing international security alliances with regional states. Such cooperation and assistance comes in four main forms:

  • Training of military and security forces
  • Financing of their operations and procurement
  • Facilitation of exports of security and military equipment by industry (for example by arranging and underwriting deals).

As security increasingly means more surveillance, security assistance is spreading and intensifying surveillance around the world.