Authoritarian regimes instinctively understand the significant role that writers—and, by extension, free expression—play in promoting critical inquiry, fostering connections between people, and cultivating visions of a better world anchored in fundamental human rights. They recognize the power of words to affirm historical truths, develop or maintain culture, and hold individuals and institutions to account. For these reasons, repressive governments and ruling authorities the world over seek to suppress or control writers.
And it is for these same reasons, and many more, that the international community must assume a greater role in protecting and supporting writers, and ensuring their ability to freely express themselves. But democracies have been slow to understand that attacks on writers are both the precursor to and a consequence of broader attacks on human rights, democracy, and free expression.