Fair and Free, but How Secure? Foreign Interference and Elections

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) continues to pose risks and challenges, especially during election periods. Countries such as Russia continue to use a suite of tools to sow divisions in societies and to undermine democratic processes and institutions. Moscow utilised FIMI methods against Ukraine before its full invasion of the country in February 2022, and it has sought to interfere in a number of NATO allies. China too is cultivating its FIMI potential by increasing its global presence in media, social media and information networks. Among other things, such actors seek to undermine democratic processes, suppress negative narratives and spread false messages or conspiracies. Increasingly, FIMI has become an integral part of the diplomatic activities of such states.

2024 will be a big test for counter-FIMI strategies. Presidential elections in Taiwan will take place in January 2024, European elections will follow in mid-2024 and presidential elections in the United States (US) will occur in November 2024. So far, one of the key strategies utilised by the European Union (EU), US and global partners during election periods has been vigilance through greater intelligence efforts and public communication. Yet, with these elections on the horizon it is necessary to reflect on the effectiveness of existing strategies. In particular, there is a need to understand how partners can better work together to dissuade and counter FIMI during elections.

The Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) and its partners organised a public event to discuss counter-FIMI strategies and how best to safeguard democratic elections.