July 2020

strengthening democratic resilience during the covid-19 pandemic

related content:

• Working Paper by Edward Lucas entitled “Firming Up Democracy’s Soft Underbelly: Authoritarian Influence and Media Vulnerability“
• Power 3.0 Podcast episode “Contextualizing China’s Corrosive Capital: A Conversation with Martin Hála“
• Power 3.0 Podcast episode “New Frontiers in Digital Censorship: A Conversation with Glenn Tiffert“
• Power 3.0 Blog post: “Neutralizing ‘Corrosive Capital’ in  the Balkans” by Martina Hrvolova
• Public Event: “Compromising the Knowledge Economy” with Glenn Tiffert, Michele Dunne, and Christopher Walker

Read more posts from the Power 3.0 Blog.

Q&A: “The Future of Investigative Journalism in a Post-Pandemic World“

In a Q&A on “The Future of Investigative Journalism in a Post-Pandemic World,” Finance Uncovered’s Nick Mathiason reflects on investigative journalism’s power in exposing transnational kleptocracy and the state of investigative journalism before and since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Power 3.0 Podcast: “The Changing Global Media Landscape“

Jamie Fly discusses the mounting pressures facing independent media outlets around the world amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from intensifying economic constraints to increased competition from illiberal and authoritarian actors, in “The Changing Global Media Landscape.”

Power 3.0 Post: “Converging Chinese and Russian Disinformation Compounds Threat to Democracy“

Andrea Kendall-Taylor and David Shullman examine the convergence of Chinese and Russian disinformation trends in “Converging Chinese and Russian Disinformation Compounds Threat to Democracy,” including the Chinese government’s adoption of Russian disinformation tactics in promoting COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

Public Event: “Lie Machines: How Disinformation Threatens Democracy and How to Save It“

On June 10, the International Forum held a public webinar on how today’s technologies enable political actors to manipulate the information ecosystem at scale and with great speed. The event, entitled “Lie Machines: How Disinformation Threatens Democracy and How to Save It,” featured Philip Howard, Laura Rosenberger, Daniel Arnaudo, and Shanthi Kalathil.

Big Question: COVID-19 and Transnational Kleptocracy 

While attention focuses on responding to COVID-19, kleptocratic financial flows will likely receive less scrutiny. Mary Beth Goodman, John Heathershaw, J.R. Mailey, and Jodi Vittori answer a Big Question about how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect trends in transnational kleptocracy.

Power 3.0 Podcast: “Beijing’s Mask Diplomacy and Power Play in Europe“

In “Beijing’s Mask Diplomacy and Power Play in Europe,” Lucrezia Poggetti discusses the evolving dynamics of Beijing’s influence activities in the European Union in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how various European audiences have reacted to China’s “mask diplomacy.”

Power 3.0 Post: “Data vs. the Disease? COVID-19 and Surveillance Technologies“

Rachelle Faust analyzes the use of public health surveillance technologies in the COVID-19 context in a Power 3.0 blog post entitled “Data vs. the Disease: COVID-19 and Surveillance Technologies.”

Power 3.0 Post: “COVID-19: A Severe Strain on the Information Space“

Dean Jackson argues how the pandemic has revealed methods authoritarian actors use to shape and distort media narratives, in a Power 3.0 blog post: “COVID-19: A Severe Strain on the Information Space.”

 “Intellectual freedom flourishes only so long as we sustain and invest in the ecosystem that supports it, and that ecosystem is prone to exploitation and despoilment by those with incompatible agendas.”

— Glenn Tiffert in “COMPROMISING THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY“

 MORE FROM THE FORUM:   

• The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program invites applications for fellowships in 2021-2022. Dedicated to international exchange, the program enables democracy scholars and practitioners to conduct independent projects while in residence in Washington, D.C. The deadline to apply is October 1, 2020.
• The Journal of Democracy published its April 2020 issue, in which contributors review the prospects for opposition parties as they confront governing populists around the world.
• The spread of COVID-19 is mirrored by the spread of mis- and disinformation online. In a new Big Question, Cédric Alviani, Graham Brookie, Sarah Cook, Joan Donovan, Nina Jankowicz, and Peter Kreko observe what COVID-19 reveals about the global information environment in times of crisis.
• COVID-19 has created a battle of narratives between governments seeking to alter how communities understand the pandemic. In a Q&A entitled “Mis- and Disinformation in a Time of Pandemic,” Aimee Rinehart considers how stakeholders in the information space can respond to misleading information related to the pandemic.
• In a recent Q&A, Drew Sullivan, co-founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, considers how COVID-19 will affect networked journalism and transnational kleptocracy: “How COVID-19 Will Impact Transnational Kleptocracy and Independent Media.”
• Explaining “Beijing’s Viral Disinformation Activities,” Jessica Brandt draws on her analysis of narratives and topics promoted by Russian and Chinese government officials and state-funded media to discuss the Chinese government’s disinformation activities amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
• In “Why Disinformation Targeting Women Undermines Democratic Institutions,” Lucina di Meco explains how disinformation targeting women in politics limits the political and electoral participation of a significant portion of the population and weakens democratic institutions.
• NED Vice President for Studies and Analysis Christopher Walker spoke at a conference organized by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights entitled “China at a Crossroads, Standing Up for Human Rights During COVID-19.”
• International Forum Senior Director Shanthi Kalathil discussed the ways in which many democratically elected leaders have taken extreme, and even undemocratic, measures in response to the COVID-19 crisis, during a Pacific Council on International Policy event entitled “Democracies in Times of Crisis.”
• Christopher Walker spoke with Visegrad Insight on how sharp power poses challenges to democratic integrity and the information space in a new interview: “Wikipedia as a Battlefield: Democracies Have to Defend the Information Space in a Global Struggle for Power.“

Read more posts from the Power 3.0 Blog.