The Russia connectionThe United States Should Not Act as If It's the Only Country Facing Foreign Interference
“Right now, Russia’s security services and their proxies have geared up to repeat their interference in the 2020 election. We are running out of time to stop them.” This stark warning from former National Security Council official Fiona Hill serves as a sharp reminder of the threat to democracy posed by foreign interference and disinformation. Russia’s ongoing interference in U.S. affairs is just a small piece on a big chessboard. A key foreign policy goal of the Kremlin is to discredit, undermine, and embarrass what it sees as a liberal international order intent on keeping Russia down and out. Russia’s systematic attack on U.S. democracy in 2016 was unprecedented, but its playbook is not unique.
“Right now, Russia’s security services and their proxies have geared up to repeat their interference in the 2020 election. We are running out of time to stop them.” This stark warning from former National Security Council official Fiona Hill—during impeachment hearings in the U.S. Congress—serves as a sharp reminder of the threat to democracy posed by foreign interference and disinformation. The United States has made much progress since the 2016 elections, when the scope and sophistication of disinformation flowing through social media platforms caught the country flat-footed—but this work is far from over.
Russia’s systematic attack on U.S. democracy in 2016 was unprecedented, but its playbook is not unique. The Kremlin has used information warfare to attack countries in Europe before and after Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton ran for the White House. It seized on Brexit in the United Kingdom, the Yellow Vests protests in France, the rise of far-right politics in Germany, and the Catalan independence conflict in Spain to amplify discord and divide societies in its favor.
Russia’s ongoing interference in U.S. affairs is just a small piece on a big chessboard. A key foreign policy goal of the Kremlin is to discredit, undermine, and embarrass what it sees as a liberal international order intent on keeping Russia down and out. By perpetuating disinformation online and bending reality in a way that confuses and divides, it shapes a narrative that can affect what happens in real life.
The U.S. government is still fumbling over how to put together an effective arsenal to guard against disinformation and other foreign influences. It should look abroad for lessons and partnerships. Many European countries have recognized the problem and are adopting creative approaches to solving it at the national and EU levels.
While there are many different examples that could be covered, a look at the Baltic states, Sweden, and the EU more generally provides a diverse slate of examples from places that have had different current and historical experiences with Russian interference.
The Baltic Model: Citizen Involvement
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which sit on NATO’s eastern flank, are acutely aware of the toll information warfare takes on daily life. Throughout the Cold War and to this day, Russian disinformation tactics—including the use of warped historical narratives and “hybrid trolls” to systematically push a specific message. These tiny Baltic countries have lessons for the United States.
