Section: The German Marshall Fund of the United States (USA)
Insinuation and Influence: How the Kremlin Targets Americans Online
The objective of Kremlin influence operations, part of a larger set of tactics and strategies known as active measures, is to make the target population more amenable to Kremlin wants and desires. They achieve this either by gaining a sympathetic hearing of their views, or failing that, by keeping us busy fighting among ourselves. The Kremlin...
Trump and China Boost EU–India Relationship
The relationship between the European Union and India may be about to finally fulfill its huge potential. It has long been described as a relationship between “natural partners” but it has also disappointed in terms of concrete results. However, two developments — the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States and the challenge of...
The Active Measures Orchestra: An Examination of Russian Influence Operations Abroad
“The approaches used by Moscow include control of the press in foreign countries; outright and partial forgery of documents; use of rumors, insinuation, altered facts, and lies; use of international and local front organizations; clandestine operation of radio stations; exploitation of a nation’s academic, political, economic, and media...
Russia’s Interference in Germany Will Continue beyond the September 24 Elections
On September 24, Germany holds a nationwide election. If the polls and experts are accurate, it should be a humdrum affair. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will receive the majority of the votes, sending her to a fourth term without breaking much of a sweat. However, all elections, even predictable ones, have...
Western Anxiety Over Zapad 2017 — Justified or Not?
Transatlantic TakeBERLIN — Next week, Russia will launch a large-scale military exercise. Titled Zapad (West), these war games take place every four years. They typically assume a NATO attack on Russia’s ally Belarus, and they train the militaries of both countries to repel such an attack. The core components of the exercises take place in...
The Militarization of Russian Policy
Photo credit: ID1974 / Shutterstock Over the past ten years, Russia has displayed an impressive degree of political-military integration in pursuit of its state objectives. Far from being improvised or opportunistic, the expansion of Russia’s military power is a coherent and purpose-driven activity designed to challenge Western dominance of...
Russian Hackers Can’t Beat German Democracy
Less than two months remain before Germans go to the polls in a general election. On the surface, this has been as regular an election season as can be: Parties have assembled their programs and teams, candidates have been out campaigning, and politics have mostly revolved around the classic issues: taxes, social benefits, public investment. Yet...
Hamilton 68: A New Tool to Track Russian Disinformation on Twitter
Since Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election, many have warned that Putin will be back in 2018 and 2020. But the reality is that Russian influence operations never left. As former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper recently stated, the Kremlin is already beginning to “prep the battlefield” for the 2018 elections. But...
Memo to Brussels: Chill Out About Russia Sanctions
Transatlantic TakeWASHINGTON – The European Union and several European capitals have been in a tizzy about likely new U.S. sanctions on Russia. Following approval by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 25, by a near unanimous 419-3 vote, of new U.S. sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea, the EU warned it was ready to retaliate...
Memo to Brussel: Chill Out About Russia Sanctions
Transatlantic TakeWASHINGTON – The European Union and several European capitals have been in a tizzy about likely new U.S. sanctions on Russia. Following approval by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 25, by a near unanimous 419-3 vote, of new U.S. sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea, the EU warned it was ready to retaliate...
