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In advance of the Summit for Democracy, the International Forum launched the Sharp Power Research Portal, an interactive digital tool. With over 750 resources in five languages, the Portal features easily accessible examples and analyses of the scale and impact of authoritarian sharp power around the world. As democratic stakeholders work to counter this increasing threat, this free tool will enable policymakers, civil society activists, journalists, and researchers to identify critical information through a searchable database and interactive world map.
Authoritarian influencers are working to manipulate and penetrate critical sectors of open societies. In a Power 3.0 Blog post entitled “Sharp Power at a Glance: Introducing the Sharp Power Research Portal,” the International Forum’s Jessica Ludwig explains how these initiatives often include a determination to monopolize ideas, suppress alternative narratives, and exploit partner institutions. Following the Portal’s launch, Kevin Sheives and Jessica Ludwig joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ ChinaPower podcast episode entitled “China’s Sharp Power” to further define China’s sharp power strategy toward mature and developing democracies and contrast their sharp power strategy with other authoritarian regimes. Read more about the portal below.
A wide range of think tank, university, journalism, and civil society leaders highlighted the potential impact of this one resource:
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Ronald Deibert of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School for Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto delivered the 2021 Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture on Democracy in the World on December 1. He discussed how several factors came together for digital subversion to become more widely practiced with greater chances of success. Digital subversion, or the use of powerful surveillance and technology for malign purposes, has increased in recent years as the world becomes more connected. He stressed that “countering digital subversion has therefore truly become an existential imperative.” Deibert also emphasized the need for democracies and civil society alike to recognize the emergency, advocate for stronger counter measures, build heightened legal accountability against malign actors, and design algorithms that are harder to manipulate for malicious purposes. Watch the lecture on NED’s YouTube page.
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The International Forum released the latest publication in our Global Insights series with five interdisciplinary essays that spotlight innovative methods and perspectives on this challenge. Following the Summit for Democracy, these essays by journalists, civil society activists, and scholars focus on a globally networked response to disinformation that goes beyond platform-centered solutions. The authors offer ideas to combat disinformation in the non-digital sphere and address the information integrity challenges of illiberal regimes in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
Essays Include:
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Spotlight: The International Forum and the 2021 Summit for Democracy
On December 8, the National Endowment for Democracy held “Rebuilding Democratic Momentum,” a dynamic forum with the world’s most important voices on the frontlines of the democratic struggle. The event featured remarks by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and U.S. Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, as well as activists from Hong Kong, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Russia in conversation with U.S. legislators. Madeleine Albright, Senator Dan Sullivan, Greg Lebedev, and Elizabeth Shuler discussed how to rebuild democratic momentum and former democratic leaders—Ricardo Lagos, José Ramos-Horta, Mikulas Dzurinda, and Kamissa Camara—shared lessons learned from democratic transitions around the world. Also featured in the event were the International Forum’s John Glenn and Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow DJ Switch, who shared how to sustain democratic movements and how civil society can respond to challenging conditions.
Other Events During the Summit for Democracy:
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The International Forum convened a discussion among researchers and activists who emphasized that authoritarian sharp power seeks to monopolize ideas, suppress alternative narratives, and exploit partner institutions. This event, moderated by Kevin Sheives (International Forum), was a part of the Global Democracy Coalition Forum and featured Dominika Hajdu (GLOBSEC, Slovakia), Ttcat (Doublethink Lab, Taiwan), George Sarpong (National Media Commission, Ghana), and Jessica Ludwig (International Forum). Participants outlined democracies’ vulnerabilities to authoritarian sharp power, identified models of civil society resilience, and stressed the need for cross-border and interdisciplinary learning to foster democratic unity.
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Instant-communication technologies that enable the collection of big data have opened unexpected avenues for the manipulation of public opinion, political processes, and democratic institutions. In the Sharp Power Research Portal, the International Forum is highlighting two key resources from the Technology sector from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Mapping China’s Tech Giants project. Fergus Ryan, Audrey Fritz, and Daria Impiombato discuss in “Reining in China’s Technology Giants” how the PRC is refining its technological capacity to exert control over digital policy standards around the world. In “Supply Chains and the Global Data Collection Ecosystem,” Samantha Hoffman and Nathan Attrill describe how PRC tech companies have changed radically and taken advantage of broken supply chains for governments and companies alike.
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