Latest Articles about Influence Operations

Poland on the Frontlines Against Russia’s Shadow War
Executive Summary: Russia’s shadow war against Poland combines low-level sabotage, insider espionage, informational warfare, and cyber‑attacks. Between 2010 and 2025, Polish authorities closed 30 subterfuge cases, leading to the arrests of 61 individuals—19 cases and 49 arrests since 2021—accounting for roughly 35 percent of Europe’s Russian-linked... MORE

Hybrid Threats and Modern Political Warfare: The Architecture of Cross-Domain Conflict
We are publishing this piece because Mr. Irdi served within the Italian government for seventeen years in various capacities related to foreign affairs and security policy, including as a special advisor to Italy’s minister of foreign affairs. During his tenure at the Italian prime minister’s... MORE

Russia Expands Foothold in East Africa
Executive Summary: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced plans in February to increase Russian involvement in Africa, as Russia’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Dmitry Volvach, expects that Russian-African trade will double in the next five years. Russia is expanding its influence in Africa through... MORE

Moscow Confuses U.S. Reductions of Key Russia-Watching Organizations as Signs of Weakness Rather Than Readiness for Genuine Dialogue
Executive Summary: Russian media has misinterpreted the U.S. reductions of organizations such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) as signs of U.S. weakness rather than signals that Washington is prepared for genuine dialogue with Moscow. Kremlin-aligned figures celebrate the reduction as a blow to U.S.... MORE

Sweden’s SÄPO Reports that Russia is Evolving Sabotage Tactics
Executive Summary: Sweden’s Security Service warns of an alarming shift in Russian espionage tactics, involving the recruitment of individuals suffering from substance addiction for sabotage missions as part of a broader hybrid warfare strategy targeting Sweden and Europe. Sweden’s recent accession to the North Atlantic... MORE

Anti-Western Rhetoric Intensifying in Russian Media
Executive Summary: The Kremlin seeks to restore normal relations with the West as a bargaining chip for negotiations on Russia’s war against Ukraine, despite intensifying anti-European rhetoric in Russian media. Pro-Kremlin analysts, especially from military-linked outlets, increasingly accuse Europe of Nazism and suggest deliberate strategies... MORE

PRC Malign influence at Home and Abroad—Peter Mattis’s Testimony Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The following is a lightly edited version of testimony delivered by Jamestown President Peter Mattis. The testimony was delivered before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing held on January 30, 2025, on the topic “The Malign Influence of The People's Republic of China... MORE

The Party’s One-Way Approach to People-to-People Exchanges
Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China (PRC) frames people-to-people exchange programs as benign cultural and educational efforts, but in reality, they serve to advance the Chinese Communist Party’s agendas—such as the “community of common destiny for mankind”—and bolster the PRC’s geopolitical aims. While the... MORE

Russia’s Information Security Industry Expands International Footprint
Executive Summary: Russian information security companies are expanding their operations in Russia’s near abroad despite facing limitations caused by Western sanctions, as other states increasingly view internet freedom as a threat to their sovereignty. Russian contractors are also working alongside the Kremlin to draw on... MORE

Russian IT Sector Effectively Serves the Kremlin Despite Sanctions
Executive Summary: Moscow continues to leverage modern technology in its hybrid warfare against the West and in carrying out cyber-attacks despite sanctions. The Kremlin employs cutting-edge technologies to create an illusionary reality within Russia to promote propaganda about its war against Ukraine and has access... MORE