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.
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May 2020
To Ensure a Healthy Election in a Pandemic, First Prepare the Information Space
State and local leaders, in partnership with social media platforms, must prepare the information space for the onslaught of disinformation that epidemic-necessitated changes to the election process could generate. New York democrats may not be cast [...]
Stronger Together: NATO’s Evolving Approach toward China
ASD Program Manager and Fellow Nad'a Kovalcikova and RAND Corporation Policy Analyst Gabrielle Tarini argue that NATO needs to develop a comprehensive political, economic, and security strategy to deal with China’s growing global power in a Women i [...]
April 2020
Ensuring Safe Elections: Federal Funding Needs for State and Local Governments During the Pandemic
ASD’s Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine joined with experts from the Brennan Center, Pitt Cyber, and R Street to produce a new report that provides an in-depth look at the equipment, staffing, supplies, and other costs of administering electi [...]
Friends and Enemies: A Framework for Understanding Chinese Political Interference in Democratic Countries
Introduction “For our friends, we produce fine wine. Jackals, we welcome with shotguns.” - Ambassador Gui Congyou, 2019Edward Lucas. “Sweden’s China Problem.” CEPA, January 7, 2020. This was how a Chinese ambassador warned Sweden of potential con [...]
Russian Coronavirus Aid to Italy: The Mask Falls Off
Since February of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic has swept the globe, China has been engaging in what media commentators are calling “mask diplomacy”—the sale or donation of medical supplies to countries battling the terrible disease. Russia [...]
France Gets a Taste of Beijing’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomacy
On April 15, the French ministry of foreign affairs summoned the Chinese ambassador in Paris. After weeks of incendiary rhetoric from the Chinese delegation, French authorities were incensed by an article on the embassy’s website falsely claiming th [...]
Election Security Cannot Be a Victim of the Coronavirus
The most recent coronavirus stimulus package signed into law includes $400 million in funds to support state and local government efforts to prevent the coronavirus from impacting the elections process. While more funding will be needed to address t [...]
How Beijing Exploits Inflammatory ‘China Virus’ Rhetoric
Over the past three weeks, American and Chinese officials have employed escalating rhetoric in efforts to blame one another for the global coronavirus pandemic. High-ranking U.S. administration officials frequently and pointedly referred to the viru [...]
March 2020
Five Things to Know About Beijing’s Disinformation Approach
The coronavirus outbreak has opened up a new chapter in the global information contest between autocrats and democrats. In recent weeks, China has employed increasingly assertive tactics in its efforts to shape perceptions of the crisis. Data collec [...]
Combating the Coronavirus Infodemic: Is Social Media Doing Enough?
The global coronavirus pandemic has also spawned an epidemic of online disinformation, ranging from false home remedies to state-sponsored influence campaigns. In the confusing environment, false medical theories have even found accidental legitimiz [...]
Analyzing China’s Coronavirus Propaganda Messaging in Europe
As COVID-19 has spread around the world, the Chinese party-state’s international propaganda apparatus has swung into action. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda outlets are using declining numbers of COVID-19 sufferers inside China to por [...]
Conceptualizing Foreign Interference in Europe
Introduction Europe has been at the forefront of confronting asymmetric attacks from foreign adversaries. Disinformation campaigns have been used against the European public since the Soviet era, and with the advent of social media platforms, they [...]