"At home, Xi's instincts are at least as illiberal as his Russian counterpart. He believes that even a little political permissiveness could prove not only his own undoing, but also that of his regime." 这是一篇社论，意思大致上可以理解，就是在说习近平对中国内部的掌控相当严格， 不下于俄罗斯的普丁。 想请问的是"instinct"这里该怎么理解，查了很多例句都不脱“直觉”这个意思，但在 这里的上下文显然不通。 谢谢大家帮忙！