Arc of Autocracy

I see this as a stab of lightning going from China to Russia.  Morrison has chosen to follow the idea of having a snappy mantra as George Bush did with the Axis of Evil.  I’m not sure that Arc of Autocracy has the same impact as Axis of Evil.  Autocracy is a bit of a clunky word.  It seems that what Morrison wants us to believe is that China and Russia are in cahoots, that China approved Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that Xi and Putin are following the same dictatorial line.  This simplifies world politics enormously.  Morrison is desperate to keep the image of himself bravely withstanding Chinese oppression as a running theme of the coming election, so he is managing to work it into everything that happens, even into war in Ukraine.  China has, according to Morrison, remained ‘chillingly silent’ on Russia’s special military operation, but India has also said nothing, despite pressure from its Quad partners.  It has too much to lose. China’s silence is threatening, India’s is quite understandable.  As Morrison said when questioned on this, all countries have ‘different levels of engagement with Russia … so I’m respectful of that’.