This section documents how Tsourapas’s academic research has been cited in national and international policy frameworks. His work on migration diplomacy, authoritarian governance, and transnational repression has informed the agendas of intergovernmental organisations, parliaments, and research bodies. Reports by the European Commission, UK Parliament, US Congress, and others draw on his conceptual work to shape understanding and strategy across multiple domains of foreign and migration policy.

Intergovernmental Organisations

Leading intergovernmental organisations have drawn directly on Gerasimos Tsourapas’s academic work to inform policy decisions on migration, foreign relations, and authoritarian governance. His research on migration diplomacy and transnational repression has been cited in official reports by the European Commission, the UK Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the U.S. Congress, reflecting its strategic relevance to global policy frameworks.

 

European Commission
Report: Migration Diplomacy: An Analysis of Policy Approaches and Instruments (European Migration Network–OECD Joint Inform, November 2024)
This official EMN-OECD policy report cites multiple works by Tsourapas (2017, 2019) to conceptualize and define “migration diplomacy” as a central framework for understanding state behavior in managing international migration. His co-authored piece Migration Diplomacy in World Politics and his solo article Migration Diplomacy in the Global South are used to establish the theoretical foundation for the report’s comparative analysis of EU and OECD countries. The report informs migration partnerships, issue linkage strategies, and external conditionality practices at the EU level.
Download: Tsourapas_EMN-OECD_Migration-Diplomacy_Report_2024
Cites:

 

UK Parliament
Report: Defending Democracy in the Age of Disinformation (Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, 2024)
This written submission to the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy cites the work of Gerasimos Tsourapas on transnational repression and diaspora governance. The evidence supports the inquiry’s investigation into foreign interference and threats to democratic institutions, and calls for the creation of a UK Transnational Rights Protection Office. Tsourapas’s 2021 article on “Global Autocracies” is cited as a key academic reference framing authoritarian strategies of coercion by proxy.
Download: Chubb_UK-Parliament_Defending-Democracy_Evidence_2024
Cites:
 • Tsourapas, G. (2021) “Global Autocracies: Strategies of Transnational Repression, Legitimation, and Co-Optation in World Politics”, International Studies Review

 

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Report: Transnational Repression as a Growing Threat to the Rule of Law and Human Rights (Doc. 15787, June 2023)
This official PACE report draws on Tsourapas’s 2021 article to frame the phenomenon of transnational repression as a global and systemic strategy of authoritarian governance. His work is cited in the explanatory memorandum as a key scholarly reference underpinning the conceptualisation of “global autocracies” and the mechanisms by which authoritarian regimes coerce, monitor, and punish dissidents abroad. The report’s findings shape policy recommendations on surveillance, abuse of Interpol, digital repression, and coercion by proxy, with a specific call to recognise and combat authoritarian influence across Europe.
Download: Tsourapas_Council-of-Europe_Transnational-Repression_Report_2023
Cites:
 • Tsourapas, G. (2021) “Global Autocracies: Strategies of Transnational Repression, Legitimation, and Co-Optation in World Politics”, International Studies Review

 

Swedish Government – Migration Studies Delegation (Delmi)
Policy Brief: Return Migration Diplomacy: On Return and Readmission Cooperation between Sweden and Diplomatic Missions (Delmi Policy Brief 2024:8)
This government-funded policy brief references Tsourapas and Adamson’s co-authored 2019 article to frame the concept of migration diplomacy as a theoretical foundation for analyzing how Sweden engages with countries of origin on return and readmission policy. It applies the concept directly to evaluate diplomatic missions’ roles as political and operational actors in migration governance. The brief’s findings and recommendations inform Swedish migration policy amid growing emphasis on return mechanisms under the Tidö Agreement framework.
Download: Tsourapas_Delmi_Return-Migration-Diplomacy_Policy-Brief_2024
Cites:
• Adamson, F. & Tsourapas, G. (2019) “Migration Diplomacy in World Politics”, International Studies Perspectives

 

United States Congress
Reports: Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) 2023 Annual Report & China’s Global Police State: Background and U.S. Policy Implications (U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, December 2023)
These official Congressional publications draw extensively on Tsourapas’s co-authored research on coercion-by-proxy as a tool of transnational repression. Both reports cite the 2020 Freedom House special report At Home and Abroad, authored by Fiona Adamson and Gerasimos Tsourapas, to conceptualize how authoritarian regimes exploit family networks to exert pressure on dissidents abroad. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission frames this tactic as central to Beijing’s evolving repression strategy, while the CECC recommends targeted legislative and policy responses. Together, these reports demonstrate the growing institutional uptake of Tsourapas’s research within U.S. legislative and national security circles.
Download: Tsourapas_CECC_Coercion-by-Proxy_Cited_Report_2023 | Tsourapas_USCC_Global-Police-State_Cited_Report_2023
Cites:
• Adamson, F. & Tsourapas, G. (2020) At Home and Abroad: Coercion-by-Proxy as a Tool of Transnational Repression, Freedom House

Think Tanks & Research Institutes

This section highlights how independent and state-affiliated research institutes have drawn on Tsourapas’s scholarship to frame policy analysis on return migration, foreign authoritarian influence, and strategic use of migration. His research has informed outputs by institutions including the Carnegie Endowment, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, IFES, and ELIAMEP.

 

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
Policy Report: Understanding and Interrupting Modern Day Authoritarian Collaboration (April 2024)
This IFES policy report draws directly on Tsourapas’s 2021 article “Global Autocracies” to frame how authoritarian regimes use repression, legitimation, and co-optation through international collaboration. His analysis of transnational repression and the strategic use of migration is cited among key sources establishing the conceptual foundation for the report. The paper offers policy recommendations for democracy support practitioners to disrupt authoritarian learning and coordinated coercion, including diaspora-targeted repression, bilateral exile returns, and the abuse of Interpol systems.

Download: Tsourapas_IFES_Authoritarian-Collaboration_Cited_Report_2024
Cites:
 • Tsourapas, G. (2021) “Global Autocracies: Strategies of Transnational Repression, Legitimation, and Co-Optation in World Politics”, International Studies Review

 

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)
Policy Brief: Migration Diplomacy (June 2024)
This FES policy brief draws on and directly cites the concept of migration diplomacy as developed by Tsourapas and Adamson, using it as the central analytical framework to explain how states wield migration as a tool of foreign policy. The brief references “Migration Diplomacy in World Politics” as foundational to understanding how both origin and destination countries engage in migration agreements for strategic advantage. It applies this lens to current EU agreements with Egypt, Tunisia, and Mauritania, and addresses broader dynamics of externalisation, labour shortages, and authoritarian bargaining.

Download: Tsourapas_FES_Migration-Diplomacy_Cited_Brief_2024
Cites:
 • Adamson, F. & Tsourapas, G. (2019) “Migration Diplomacy in World Politics”, International Studies Perspectives

Human Rights & Advocacy Reports

This section highlights how civil society and human rights organisations have drawn on the academic work of Gerasimos Tsourapas to conceptualise and analyse authoritarian strategies of transnational repression. His research on coercion by proxy and diaspora governance has informed reports by leading advocacy organisations, including Amnesty International and Freedom House, shaping global awareness of how regimes target dissidents beyond their borders. These citations demonstrate the broader normative and protective impact of Tsourapas’s scholarship within rights-based monitoring and public accountability frameworks.

 

Amnesty International – “On My Campus, I Am Afraid” (2024)
Report: This Amnesty International report documents the Chinese government’s surveillance, intimidation, and transnational repression of Chinese international students in Europe, North America, and Australia. Based on interviews with 32 students, the report exposes how authoritarian influence extends across borders and undermines academic freedom. It cites the work of Gerasimos Tsourapas on coercion by proxy to conceptualize how regimes target family members to control dissident activity abroad. Amnesty uses this framework to support policy recommendations for host governments, universities, and human rights bodies. Download: Tsourapas_Amnesty_Transnational-Repression_Chinese-Students_2024
Cites:
    •    Adamson, F. & Tsourapas, G. (2020) At Home and Abroad: Coercion-by-Proxy as a Tool of Transnational Repression, Freedom House