Latest Articles about Influence Operations
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Belarus’s Situation: Is Fear an Explanatory Variable?
It is exceedingly difficult to cobble together a rational formula to explain the current state of affairs in Belarus. Nevertheless, the idea of fear, and its underpinnings, may serve as a key indicator here—that is, fear of further involvement in the war against Ukraine, which... MORE
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Russia ‘Normalizing’ Occupation Regime in Southern Ukraine (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. The front lines cutting across the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions do not coincide with the Russian-declared “borders” vis-à-vis Ukraine. Under the treaties on the two regions’ incorporation as Russian oblasts (September 30) and the corresponding additions to Russia’s... MORE
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Gagauzia Elite Reveal Strong Signs of Russian ‘Capture’ in Moldova
The Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) government in Moldova is confronted with the largest popular dissent during its mandate, as thousands of people have gathered over the past few days to protest in front of parliament and the presidential administration building. These protests are... MORE
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Russia Staging Blitz ‘Referendums’ to Annex Four Ukrainian Territories
Moscow has abruptly reversed its decision, made as recently as July 2022, to postpone annexation “referendums” in the Russian-occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine. The Kremlin had concluded that the prerequisites to minimally credible referendums, even by Russian standards, were not in place in... MORE
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Russian ‘Referendums’ in Ukrainian Territories Boosting Putin’s Novorossiya Project
Eight years ago, Russia launched a hybrid war against Ukraine with the aim to seize Crimea and wrest six Ukrainian mainland provinces—Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa—away from Ukraine. The Kremlin applied the Tsarist-era designation Novorossiya to that entire territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin... MORE
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Beijing Signals a Harder Line Policy on Taiwan Through the 20th Party Congress and Beyond
Beijing Steps Up the Pressure on Taiwan in August Following the visit to Taiwan by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in early August, military forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) conducted a high-profile series of military maneuvers around the island, intended... MORE
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Moscow Losing Another Nation’s Orthodox Church—This Time Latvia’s
Since 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Orthodox faithful and leaders in the former Soviet republics and formerly occupied Baltic countries began to press for independence from the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church and equally the Russian government have been worried about... MORE
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Are Cross-Strait Relations Dead?
Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia led a delegation to China in August, which occurred in the immediate aftermath of the extensive live-fire exercises that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted around Taiwan following U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit (Focus Taiwan, August 28; Republic of... MORE
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Make the Green Serve China: PRC Influence Operations Target International Environmentalism
Introduction As the world embraces green initiatives on an unprecedented scale, so has the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — perhaps surprisingly — embraced the green movement, but has done so primarily to support its own political objectives. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has attempted... MORE
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Spy Scandal in Albania: Could Russian Intelligence Be Using Bloggers?
On August 20, two Russians and a Ukrainian were arrested in Albania as they tried to enter a defunct military factory in the city of Gramsci. According to Albanian authorities, the detainees were trying to film the factory, and one of them, Mikhail Zorin, sprayed... MORE