Created September 2nd, 2020 by Javed Ali

Framing Statement:

Amongst the list of concerns about elections this November is the impact of foreign influence.
The scale and sophistication of Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 elections have been well
documented. Perhaps its most effective efforts centered on the use of numerous social media
platforms to promote then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the expense of
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and also to foment and heighten social and political
divisions within the United States.

Just one month ago, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a
statement that said: “Ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections, foreign states will continue to use
covert and overt influence measures in their attempts to sway U.S. voters’ preferences and
perspectives, shift U.S. policies, increase discord in the United States, and undermine the
American people’s confidence in our democratic process.” The statement went on to describe
how Russia, China and Iran are all taking measures to influence the elections, although using a
separate set of tactics and techniques and with different goals and aims.
This Café seeks to heighten discussion and conversation about best practices, policies, and
approaches to prevent or limit the impact of any such efforts.

Multimedia:

PBS News, “What New Intelligence Warning Says About Foreign Election Interference.” 7
August 2020. (3 minutes)

Democracy & Debate Theme Semester: Combating Foreign Influence in the 2020 Elections. 5 October 2020. (56 minutes)

Text:

Election security briefing changes send wrong signal (The Hill)

75% of Americans say it’s likely that Russia or other governments will try to influence 2020 election (Pew Research Center)

7 Potential Disinformation Disasters Headed into Election 2020 (Foreign Policy Research Institute)

Combating disinformation and foreign interference in democracies: Lessons from Europe (Bookings)

Questions & Prompts:

How do you think Russia has learned from that in the run-up to this year’s elections? What
seems similar or different now versus what Russia was doing in 2016?
Are Russia’s “active measures” efforts part of a broader strategy to destabilize the United
States and the West using an unconventional warfare or “grey-zone” approach?
Outside of Russia, what other countries have also been successful at using active measures
to influence the political process in the United States?
What more should the government be doing to combat foreign influence in US elections?
What role does the private sector, academia, and general public play in addressing the
foreign influence threat?

Bibliography:

Buchanan, B. The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics. First
Edition, Boston: Harvard University Press. 2020.

Clarke, R and Knake R. The Fifth Domain: Defending our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves
in the Age of Cyber Threats. First Edition, New York: Penguin Press. 2019.

Greenberg, A. Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most
Dangerous Hackers. First Edition, New York: Doubleday. 2019.

Rid, T. Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare. First
Edition, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 2020.