Category: Eurasia

Western Balkans vulnerable to ‘corrosive capital?’

     

Malign outside influence in the Western Balkans, in particular by Russia, is of increasing concern. The lack of a strong legal framework makes countries in the region especially vulnerable to… Read more »

Corruption causing ‘political decay’ and damaging democracy, Pope Francis says

     

Pope Francis wrapped up a week-long visit to Latin America on Sunday in this Andean nation warning that a series of explosive corruption scandals that have tarnished current and former presidents is… Read more »

Georgia’s citizens pro-Western and pro-democracy, despite Russian disinformation

     

Georgia’s citizens remain largely pro-Western and pro-democracy, despite a sustained campaign of Russian disinformation,  according to the National Democratic Institute’s  National Democratic Institute’s most recent public opinion research, conducted in partnership… Read more »

Kremlin must face consequences for interference & disinformation

     

Russia must face far stronger consequences for its electoral interference and disinformation operations, according to Philip Gordon and Robert Blackwill, senior fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations and veterans… Read more »

Russian sharp power fuels Balkans’ democratic regression

     

  Growing Russian influence in the Balkans is undermining democratic institutions and retarding regional states’ prospects of accession to the European Union, observers suggest. The EU is launching a diplomatic… Read more »

Reviving the Propaganda State: How the Kremlin hijacked history

     

Are Western actions to blame for the steady deterioration in U.S.-Russia relations? While the Kremlin’s view of the West has long been hostile, the spread of “color revolutions” in the… Read more »

Contrasting – and combatting – Russian and Chinese influence operations

     

China’s influence operations are “strategic and multifaceted”, The Guardian notes: The National Endowment for Democracy recently described other aspects as “sharp power”: the effort by authoritarian states not just to attract support… Read more »

Russia’s ‘orchestrated’ disinformation campaign aims to destabilize EU democracies

     

Facebook has told the Government’s fake news inquiry it will expand its investigation into whether Russian agents attempted to influence the Brexit vote. The social media giant previously said it found just… Read more »

Kleptocratic regime intensifies repression

     

Ukraine is haltingly evolving away from a Russia-style, post-Soviet kleptocracy. But the allure of no-strings-attached Chinese cash could dampen the imperative for making reforms that Western aid packages, through their… Read more »

The 4Ps of the disinformation age

     

  The Russian government is paying off Canada’s largest media companies to expose unsuspecting television subscribers to regime-sponsored disinformation in what amounts to a surreal 24 hour propaganda infomercial, notes… Read more »