RUSI Europe’s Post

Foreign Information Manipulation & Interference (FIMI) has become a growing challenge to democratic societies around the world. With over one and a half billion people voting in 2024, safeguarding the electoral process from foreign interference has never been more important.   The fourth edition of the London FIMI Forum, organised by the EU Delegation to the UK on 14 October will address these pressing concerns.  The goal of the London FIMI Forum is to foster dialogue and coordination between key EU partners, including the UK. It will discuss practical tools to address the threat that FIMI poses to the democratic process and will examine how new partnerships can generate collective responses to its evolving nature.    By bringing together policymakers, researchers, experts from different associations, and other like-minded partners, the forum aims to strengthen global cooperation in tackling foreign interference.  #LondonFIMIForum24 Filip Grzegorzewski https://lnkd.in/eJXtPR9i

In November, International IDEA hosted a one-day workshop in Brussels on Designing a Global Methodology for Analyzing Electoral Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), with over 30 FIMI experts and practitioners from across Europe. In this short video, the project team and participants talk about the relevance of the workshop and the value that the global methodology will bring to the understanding of electoral FIMI. https://lnkd.in/dgBcJvZn

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum welcomes the results of #Moldova's presidential election. Despite the threats and interferences, Moldovans once again expressed themselves for a European future by re-electing their incumbent pro-European President!   We call on: 🔵 The Moldovan authorities to pursue their “de-oligarchisation” efforts and implement a comprehensive justice reform and further advance in reforming the justice sector, particularly on the vetting process,  🟡 The Moldovan authorities to put further efforts towards increasing meaningful participation of civil society in the decision-making processes,  🔴 The EU, its Member States, and Moldovan authorities to open the “fundamentals” negotiation cluster during the upcoming Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union next year,   🔵 The EU Institutions to continue building resilience to hybrid threats and disinformation in the framework of the EU-Moldova Security and Defence Partnership and strengthen cooperation with the country in the fields of strategic communication, support for journalists and civil society,  🟡 The EU and its Member States to ensure speedy negotiation of the Reform and Growth Facility for Moldova within the Moldova Growth Plan and urge them to start the Facility as soon as possible to accelerate Moldova’s reform process and boost socio-economic growth.

🇲🇩 Moldova at a Crossroads: Defending Democracy in Challenging Times 🇪🇺 Following the razor-thin vote to join the European Union, Moldova stands at a critical moment in its history. With 50.4% of voters supporting EU integration, our neighbor faces unprecedented challenges to its democracy. In response to these events, Watchdog Moldova 🕵️♂️, in partnership with Expert Forum, has been working over the past year to combat disinformation and protect the integrity of Moldova’s democratic processes. 🚨 Foreign interference aimed at destabilizing the electoral process is a threat we cannot ignore. President Maia Sandu has already condemned this “unprecedented assault” on democracy, with evidence showing criminal attempts to influence up to 300,000 votes. We continue our vigilant monitoring and joint efforts with civil society organizations to ensure Moldova’s future remains firmly in the hands of its people. Let’s keep pushing for transparency, truth, and a strong European future for Moldova! 💪✨ A big thank you to the European Media & Information Fund (EMIF) for supporting our FactSphere project to expose disinformation in the Black Sea region.  Note that the views expressed in the report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, or the European University Institute. #Disinformation #BlackSeaRegion #TikTok #Romania #Moldova #GPPN #FactSphere #EMIF #ProKremlin #Propaganda #ElectionYear #Moldova #Democracy #EUintegration #Disinformation #WatchdogMoldova #ExpertForum

Tomorrow, US voters go to the polls for the 2024 US presidential elections. How will the result affect the US policy towards West Africa and the Sahel? Thanks again to the #BKHS and the #Europa-Kolleg Hamburg for the opportunity to publish a policy brief on possible scenarios of the future US policy towards the region.

📝 REPORT | Strengthening Europe's defences against #foreigninterference On 24-25 June, experts, researchers, and representatives from across the EU gathered in Florence for the second edition of the Countering Foreign Interference (CFI) Dialogues—the flagship event of the CFI project, co-hosted by the EUISS and the European University Institute. This year, the focus was on understanding the complex web of foreign interference and #hybridthreats, especially in the wake of the recent European Parliament elections. From election security to the challenges posed by #AI-driven #disinformation, the event offered crucial insights and practical strategies for building resilience across the EU. 💪 The CFI Dialogues continue to build a strong community of practice, bringing the EU, its Member States, and global partners closer together in the fight against Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (#FIMI). Nad'a Kovalcikova, PhD., Leonardo De Agostini, Beatrice Catena. 📌 For the outcomes and recommendations, read the full report 👇 https://lnkd.in/e5gwEju6

This week, we were able to piece together an analysis into the proposed constitutional ammendments in DRC. An outstanding narrative from this proposal is a risk of further divisions between Katanga, (the country’s mineral-rich area) and Kasai (a less mineral-rich region) south-central of DRC. This regional conflict dates back to the early 90s. Here is what we found: https://lnkd.in/dGrfaGQ7

➡️ Tabib Huseynov: Though it may sound categorical, foreign journalists and analysts have largely treated Armenia’s constitutionally enshrined territorial claims against Azerbaijan with ignorance, negligence, and perhaps even willful complicity 👍 Check out Tabib`s debut writing for Topchubashov Center. Interesting read on Armenia's constitutionally enshrined territorial claims against Azerbaijan. https://lnkd.in/edcFvz_Z

Exciting news! My latest article, co-authored with U. Selteyev and Anuar Almaganbetov, has been assigned an issue number in the Central Asian Survey journal. It's an in-depth evaluation of the political reforms under Tokayev, specifically focusing on the "Listening State" (Slyshashee Gosudarstvo) reform aimed at enhancing government responsiveness to Kazakhstani citizens. Here's the best part: I have a special link granting 50 free accesses to the article. If you're curious about the outcomes of these significant reforms, grab your chance to read it here! Don't miss out—dive into the insights and see how Kazakhstan is evolving. https://lnkd.in/g-Dcca2k 

It might be fair to say that the Republic of #Moldova is currently well served, when it comes to attention of the international community. Its candidate status to join the European Union, with a frozen conflict inside of its national borders and the proximity to the war in neighboring Ukraine create additional tension at the domestic level, and put the country high up on the agenda of geopolitics. At the same time, it is preparing for a series of elections in which the two major political camps, one EU- and one Russia-leaning, compete for control over its future trajectory. In such an environment, the power over public opinion matters even more and is heavily contested. Insofar, kicking off the ‘Media Ownership Monitor’ (MOM) this week together with our partner organization Asociația Media Guard comes timely. Co-funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the European Union Delegation to Moldova we will identify ultimate beneficial owners of the most important, opinion-shaping media outlets in the country, including its semi-autonomous region #Gagauzia, and make all data available via a trilingual website. In such a relatively small and overcrowded market, the question of media sustainability versus diversity will certainly be one to further analyze and reflect by means of the twelve MOM risk indicators. Together with our partner’s stellar team of investigative journalists on the ground, additional local experts and contributors, as well as the support of a wide range of stakeholders in civil society and the public sector, we expect to publish the Media Ownership Monitor Moldova 2024 later this year.