Latest Articles about Influence Operations

Russia Lures Georgia’s Secessionist Regions by Dual Citizenship
On October 13, at the 54th round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) on the Russian-Georgian conflict, the Georgian delegation raised the issue of Russia granting dual citizenship to residents of Georgia’s breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers... MORE

Beijing’s Growing Influence on the Global Undersea Cable Network
Introduction The vast majority of intercontinental internet traffic traverses submarine cables laid across the ocean floor. Private and state-owned firms have long invested in these submarine cables to carry internet traffic and other data, often in cooperation with one another due to the high costs... MORE

Divide, Depoliticize, and Demobilize: China’s Strategies for Controlling the Tibetan Diaspora
Introduction Last fall, the Tibetan community in New York City was scandalized by news that a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer named Baimadajie Angwang, allegedly of Tibetan ethnicity, had been arrested and charged with spying on the local Tibetan community for the Chinese Communist... MORE

Xinhua Infiltrates Western Electronic Media, Part 2: Relationships with News Agencies and Distribution Services
Author’s Note: This is the second part of a two-part article series in China Brief exploring methods by which Xinhua and other Chinese state-owned media organizations are seeking greater presence and influence for their propaganda material in English-language online media. The first article examined recent... MORE

Recent Trends in Sino-Israeli Relations Bely Lasting Warm Ties
Introduction On May 19, the Israeli Embassy in China protested what it called “blatant anti-Semitism” on a Chinese international news program, after the CGTN broadcaster Zheng Junfeng (郑俊峰) openly wondered whether the U.S. position toward Israel was the result of the influence of “wealthy Jews... MORE

Putin’s Penchant for Drawing and Crossing ‘Red Lines’
The summit in Geneva between Presidents Joseph Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia was supposed to stabilize bilateral relations by demarcating areas and issues each side deemed so important that any hostile incursion would encounter a strong response. In the present-day... MORE

UN Human Rights Clash Strains Credibility of Chinese Diplomacy
On June 22, the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) delivered a joint statement to the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on behalf of 44 countries expressing grave concern about the “repression of religious and ethnic minorities” by the People’s... MORE

Sale of German Aluminum Company to Russia Raises Security Concerns
United States President Joseph Biden’s European meetings with the G7 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) earlier this month highlighted some of the extant policy differences between the US and its allies despite the positive PR assaults that sought to minimize them. One well-known... MORE

Kremlin’s Geopolitical Fears Divide Finno-Ugric Peoples
The eighth meeting of the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples took place in Tartu, Estonia, on June 16–18. These congresses, which are held in a different city every four years, are also political summits, usually attended by presidents of the world’s three Finno-Ugric-majority countries—Finland, Estonia... MORE

Moscow Ready to Exploit Increasingly Independent-Minded Greenland against West
The Russian government is already signaling that it plans an activist approach during its three-year term as chair of the Arctic Council (see EDM, April 22, May 13, 26). It is scheduling various meetings to discuss how that regional body can be mobilized to promote... MORE