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.
20 for 20: 20 Ways to Protect the 2020 Presidential Election
ASD’s Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine and the Bipartisan Policy Center's Director of the Election Project Matthew Weil identify 20 ways states could further protect the 2020 presidential election with additional funding. Introduction At t [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take China is attempting to portray itself as an altruistic partner to the world, double down on efforts to divide Europe, and repair its image in European countries where it has recently encountered friction, Director Laura Rosenberger and Dir [...]
Triad of Disinformation: How Russia, Iran, & China Ally in a Messaging War against America
When Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian began tweeting about the origins of the coronavirus in March, it marked a significant turning point in China’s social media disinformation operations. While China has long deployed widespread ce [...]
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 [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take Director Laura Rosenberger expressed the need for an affirmative strategy to counter Beijing’s use of new and more aggressive information manipulation tactics when she briefed the full House Foreign Affairs Committee today on Chinese disin [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take Fellow for Elections Integrity David Levine co-authored a new report, “Ensuring Safe Elections: Federal Funding Needs for State and Local Governments During the Pandemic,” which was published in partnership with the Brennan Center for Just [...]
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 [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take China’s new aggressive information strategy that blames the United States, spreads disinformation, and amplifies conspiracies about the coronavirus could backfire and undermine any positive image China has managed to develop, Director Laur [...]
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 [...]