ASD contributes long and short form research products and analysis to inform and engage our audience on a range of issues related to malign foreign interference. In addition, we develop policy recommendations and strategies to close vulnerabilities and safeguard institutions from authoritarian threats.
Focus Areas
Threat Actors
All Posts
November 2021
The Five Great Enabler Nations
Key Point Consolidating the international consensus that the professional enablers of corruption should be required to watch out for dirty money would require landmark reform initiatives—split roughly evenly between enacting new rules and enforcing [...]
Interest Alignment: The Appeal of RT Deutsch with Supporters of the Alternative for Deutschland
The alignment of interests between the German right-wing party, Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), and Russia’s flagship German-language media outlet, RT Deutsch, is both well-documented and unsurprising, given the Kremlin’s penchant for supporting [...]
With Friends Like These
Gulf states engaged in cyber-espionage, hacking, and harassment must not be given carte blanche to poison the cyber-realm simply because they are U.S. security partners. The Justice Department recently announced that three former U.S. intelligence [...]
Who Represents Democracy at Biden’s Summit?
President Biden’s Summit for Democracy aims to reenergize global commitment to democracy during a dangerous period of backsliding and rising authoritarianism. It is imperative that we work together—learn from one another—to defend democracy. But rec [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 25–31, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian diplomats and state-funded media provided updates on the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Rome. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the meeting but delivered a video address that criticized unnamed G20 members for al [...]
October 2021
Q&A with Maurice Turner: How Can Democracies Fight Back Against Ransomware?
Ransomware payments in the United States reached nearly $600 million in the first six months of 2021, exceeding the amount of ransom that U.S. institutions reportedly paid to cybercriminals during all of 2020. In 2021, the United States has fallen v [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 18–24, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian diplomats and state-funded media disparaged NATO to justify the Kremlin’s move to suspend its permanent mission to the alliance. Moscow’s decision followed NATO’s expulsion of eight members of the Russian mission for allege [...]
The German Elections Dashboard in September 2021: Foreign Election Coverage and RT Deutsch’s YouTube Ban
September was an important month for German politics with the federal elections taking place on September 26. Our pre-election analysis demonstrated the reach of and bias in Russian coverage ahead of the elections. Both before and after the election [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 11–17, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian officials and state-funded media continued to push back on accusations that the Kremlin abused its dominance in the European energy market to cause the continent’s gas shortage. Moscow-linked outlets amplified President Vla [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 4–10, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian officials and state media focused on the surging gas prices in Europe, which some EU politicians have said stems from Russia manipulating the gas market to speed up the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. State-backed out [...]
AUK-ward Timing: U.S. and EU Need to Strengthen Alliances to Outcompete Authoritarians
The AUKUS agreement between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom represents an important step towards further integrating Australia into a concerted Pacific defense strategy, while providing U.S. allies with access to technology and [...]
RT Deutsch Finds a Home with Anti-Vaccination Skeptics in Germany
YouTube’s decision last week to remove RT’s German-language channels for violating the platform’s coronavirus misinformation policy sparked an outcry from Moscow, with the foreign ministry claiming that the move was “fully in line with the logic of [...]