The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly adapting its domestic coercive tactics to influence and interfere in foreign democratic countries. Find ASD’s work on the tools China uses—ranging from the weaponization of its economy to Beijing’s attempts to control global and domestic narratives—to interfere in democracies on this page.
Who Cares about a Midterm Election? Comparing Russia, Iran, and China’s Electoral Interference from Past to Present
The 2020 presidential election cycle was abnormally long, with chaos, debate about the outcome, and an insurrection before it finally concluded—at least officially—on inauguration day in January 2021. Now just over a year later, the United States mu [...]
Hamilton Toplines: May 9–15, 2022
Russia Russian propagandists last week reacted to Finland and Sweden’s announced bids to join NATO by threatening military retaliation, accusing the two countries of violating international agreements, and highlighting division within NATO. Russia’s [...]
Limits to the “No Limits” Partnership? China’s Pro-Russian Stance in the Face of the Bucha Massacre
Since the war in Ukraine started, Chinese diplomats and state media have attempted to portray their country as a neutral third party interested only in restoring peace to Europe. But that effort has been belied by Beijing’s own messaging, which has [...]
Bryce Barros Participates in War Games: The Battle For Taiwan on NBC News
China Affairs Analyst Bryce Barros participated in a war game on Meet the Press Reports simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2027. The exercise brought together U.S. lawmakers, former Pentagon officials, and China experts to think through how [...]
Hamilton Toplines: May 2-May 8, 2022
Russia Russian government-affiliated Twitter accounts marked Victory Day, which celebrates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazis in World War II, by launching a patriotic messaging push across social media. Russian diplomats and state media posted more [...]
Hamilton Toplines: April 25–May 1, 2022
Russia Russian diplomats and state media last week posted 764 tweets that referenced either “gas” or “rubles” as propagandists detailed Europe’s effort to cope with Moscow’s decision to cut gas supplies for Poland and Bulgaria. Russia made the move [...]
Bret Schafer Unpacks Russian and Chinese Disinformation Nexus with Washington Foreign Press Center
This briefing unpacks the Russia-China disinformation nexus, with a focus on the Global South, as well as the countries' increasing information warfare campaigns, within the context of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: April 18–24, 2022
Russia Russian diplomats and state media last week posted more than 800 tweets that referenced “Mariupol” or “Azovstal,” which is the name of a steel plant in the city that has become a holdout for Ukrainian soldiers. Kremlin-linked accounts celebra [...]
French Election Dashboard Toplines: April 11–17, 2022
Highlights The Russian Embassy in Paris was the author of nine of the top ten tweets by French-language Russian accounts last week. As in previous weeks, its messaging focused on the war in Ukraine and ignored domestic French politics. Russian st [...]
Zack Cooper Unpacks the Sino-Russian Relationship on War on the Rocks
This is the national security podcast crossover of the century! Or at least of the year…ok maybe of Spring 2022! For this special episode of the “War on the Rocks” podcast, Doyle Hodges of “Horns of a Dilemma” hosts Zack Cooper, Melanie Marlowe, and [...]
Hamilton Toplines: April 11–17, 2022
Russia Russian diplomats and state media last week mentioned “Mariupol” in nearly 500 tweets as they blamed Ukrainian Nazis and their Western backers for war crimes committed in the battered Ukrainian port city. Diplomatic accounts claimed that Ukra [...]
What the United States Can Learn From Chinese Economic Coercion in South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan
Overview China’s response to the establishment of a Taiwanese Representative Office in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius serves as the most recent example of the perniciousness of economic coercion. Since China’s “Go Out” economic policy was implemente [...]