How do authoritarian regimes engage with one another in the international system? A growing literature is beginning to conceptualise the diverse linkages between the international and the domestic political arenas, thereby bridging the subfield of international relations and comparative politics. Early results highlight a variety of processes that encompass the international dimension of authoritarian rule: complementing an existing literature on military disputes between authoritarian regimes (Lai & Slater 2005; Debbs & Goemans 2010), scholars are increasingly identifying complex processes of authoritarian cooperation (Mattes & Rodrigues 2014), processes of learning or policy diffusion (Heydemann & Lenders 2012; 2014; Ambrosio 2010; Koesel & Bunce 2014); of ideational and material support (Erdman et al 2013); or cross-regime competition (Von Soest, 2015). This panel aims to move this discussion forward by acknowledging the variety of forms that such linkages and interconnectedness can take, as well as the political importance behind these forms of interaction between domestic and external actors within authoritarian settings. Identifying the mechanisms, arenas and drivers behind the spread of authoritarian regimes’ strategies though diffusion, competition and/or cooperation will be the main aim of the contributions in this panel. Bringing together case study research and regional comparative perspectives with global quantitative research we aim to shed lights on different aspects of international regime cooperation.