Latest Articles about Public Opinion

Deepfakes with Chinese Characteristics: PRC Influence Operations in 2024

Executive Summary: The PRC’s potential to interfere in elections with deepfakes has been noted, with strategies including creating false narratives around candidates and misleading information on electoral processes. Advanced AI tools could further sophisticate these interference efforts, impacting democratic processes worldwide. Beijing appears to have... MORE

Lukashenka and the Nuances of Belarusian Nationalism

Executive Summary: Belarusian statehood and national identity have experienced several transformations throughout history, influenced by connections to Russia and the West. The Belarusian population is divided between two dominant narratives on national identity: the “Westernizing” and Russo-centric perspectives. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka subscribes to the... MORE

Polish Farmer Protests Trigger International Repercussions

Executive Summary: Polish farmers object to the EU Green Deal and the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products into Europe, which they assert will harm the domestic agricultural market. The protests are exacerbating already turbulent Ukrainian-Polish relations, a development that Russian propaganda could attempt to exploit... MORE

Belarus’s Parliamentary Elections and Opposition Prospects

Executive Summary: Belarus’s government outlawed opposition parties in anticipation of last week’s parliamentary election, contrasting previous elections that had offered a platform for opposition parties to spread their views. Oppositionists have primarily been forced into exile, which raises doubts about how effectively they can communicate... MORE

Dueling Visions of Belarus’s Future

Executive Summary: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has asserted that expanding economic integration The population is split between the Russo-centric and “Westernizing” views on independent Belarus, with Belarusians seemingly outgrowing the former while being unable to embrace the latter fully. A clearer view of the two... MORE

Bashkir Protests Sending Shockwaves Across Russia and Beyond

Executive Summary: Mass protests in Bashkortostan featured calls for the independence of the Middle Volga republic and have shattered the image that Russia is united behind Putin. These events have convinced Bashkirs and other non-Russians that their time is coming, and Kyiv believes that the... MORE