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.
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Announcements Congratulations to GMF President Dr. Karen Donfried on her nomination to serve as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs to the Biden administration! The new and improved Hamilton 2.0 dashboard is now live! Wit [...]
Multi-Stakeholder Insights: A Compendium On Countering Election Interference
Introductory Letter Governments, civil society and industry recognize the importance of a secure, stable and accessible cyber and digital information space, especially in today’s challenging and unpredictable environment. In November 2018, the Fre [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Announcements Join ASD, the Government of Canada, and Microsoft on Wednesday, April 14 at 12:15 p.m. EDT/6:15 p.m. CET for the launch of a Paris Call compendium on countering election interference with Canada’s Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs [...]
If the Election Software Works, Use It and Audit the Results
The Netherlands is a tech-savvy nation that has scaled back the use of technology in its elections over the past decade-plus as part of its efforts to reduce the likelihood that autocratic actors, such as Russia, are able to interfere in the technic [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Announcements We're excited to welcome Maurice Turner to the team as our new cybersecurity fellow! He most recently provided technical expertise to the Election Assistance Commission and has worked with local, state, and federal partners to identif [...]
Adversarial Avenues: Ten Bipartisan Ways to Make a Bill Like S. 1 Close Loopholes Autocrats Exploit to Meddle in U.S. Politics
Introduction and Summary In his push for bipartisan efforts on voting rights legislation, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) warned that “the lack of transparency in many campaign finance rules provides multiple avenues for foreign and national adversaries [...]
How to Hold an Election During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Lessons Learned from Portugal
In January, less than two weeks before Portugal’s presidential election was scheduled, a new wave of the coronavirus threatened to overwhelm hospitals and led the Portuguese government to put the country back under lockdown. But unlike other countri [...]
Q&A with David Levine: How Will Georgia’s New Election Law Impact the State’s Election Integrity?
On March 25, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a sweeping election law that includes measures to impose stricter identification requirements for absentee voting, limit the number of ballot drop boxes, shift oversight of elections to the legislature [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Announcements We are thrilled to announce Laura Thornton as ASD’s new director! She brings deep knowledge of and experience with strengthening democracy around the world. Our Take For nearly a year, our team has documented steps that government, [...]
Defending 2020: What Worked, What Didn’t, and What’s Next
Executive Summary The 2016 presidential election served as a wakeup call to the threat of authoritarian interference, and in the years since, many segments of American society—from the federal government to private companies and civil society gro [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take Ahead of the Biden administration’s first face-to-face meeting with top Chinese officials last week, China Analyst Bryce Barros noted that a reset is unlikely, and Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman explained why Beijing’s “divide [...]
Messaging Authoritarianism: China’s Four Messaging Pillars and How ‘Wolf Warrior’ Tactics Undermine Them
A messaging strategy is only as good as the goal it serves; as Xi Jinping has made clear, China is seeking to make the world safer for its brand of authoritarianism by reshaping the world order. An analysis of messaging from China’s diplomats, state [...]