The Long Fuse: Misinformation and the 2020 Election

The Long Fuse: Misinformation and the 2020 Election. Atlantic Council. Election Integrity Partnership. March 2, 2021.

The Election Integrity Partnership, comprising organizations that specialize in understanding those information dynamics, aimed to create a model for whole-of-society collaboration and facilitate cooperation among partners dedicated to a free and fair election. With the narrow aim of defending the 2020 election against voting-related mis- and disinformation, it bridged the gap between government and civil society, helped to strengthen platform standards for combating election-related misinformation, and shared its findings with its stakeholders, media, and the American public. This report details our process and findings, and provides recommendations for future actions. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 282 pages].

Protecting Democracy in an Age of Disinformation: Lessons from Taiwan

Protecting Democracy in an Age of Disinformation: Lessons from Taiwan. Center for Strategic & International Studies. Jude Blanchette, Bonnie S. Glaser, Scott Kennedy. January 27, 2021

Taiwan has long defended itself from political meddling, including disinformation, by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Attempts to influence Taiwan’s domestic politics have increased in both intensity and severity following the election of Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, with Beijing continuing to target the basic underpinnings of Taiwan’s democratic system. The disinformation campaigns carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are often obscured by the secrecy and opacity of the CCP’s “united front” approach, which makes it difficult to accurately diagnose and right-size the problem of disinformation, complicating efforts to craft effective solutions.  While CCP disinformation campaigns pose a clearly identifiable threat to the United States and Taiwan, they are only one part of a larger disinformation problem facing democracies in this era of instant and omnipresent communication technologies. Indeed, the experience of both Taiwan and the United States suggest that rival political parties are incentivized to exaggerate and weaponize charges of “foreign interference” against each other—charges which often are more damaging to underlying trust levels in a democracy than the original foreign disinformation attacks themselves.  [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 35 pages].

Biden Begins Presidency with Positive Ratings; Trump Departs with Lowest-Ever Job Mark

Biden Begins Presidency with Positive Ratings; Trump Departs with Lowest-Ever Job Mark. Pew Research Center.  January 15, 2021

68% of public does not want Trump to remain a major political figure in the future

As Joe Biden prepares to take office just days after a deadly riot inside the U.S. Capitol, 64% of voters express a positive opinion of his conduct since he won the November election. Majorities also approve of Biden’s Cabinet selections and how he has explained his plans and policies for the future. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 56 pages].

The Drivers of Institutional Trust and Distrust: Exploring Components of Trustworthiness

The Drivers of Institutional Trust and Distrust: Exploring Components of Trustworthiness. RAND Corporation. Jennifer Kavanagh et al. November 17, 2020.

Trust in many institutions, such as government and media, has declined in the past two decades. Although such trends are well documented, they are not well understood. The study described in this report presents a new framework for assessing institutional trust and understanding the individual characteristics and institutional attributes that affect trust. Analysis is based on a survey of 1,008 respondents conducted through the RAND Corporation’s American Life Panel in April 2018. The study makes several key contributions to the field of institutional trust research. First, researchers used a scale that distinguishes between trust and distrust, thus allowing a different understanding of trust. Second, the analysis is a first step toward understanding why people trust institutions. The framework allows exploration of components of trustworthiness—i.e., the institutional attributes that people say they consider important to levels of trust (e.g., integrity, competence). The researchers also analyzed relationships between components of trustworthiness and the individual characteristics of those expressing the level of trust. Third, the survey featured questions about multiple institutions, allowing researchers to make comparisons across institutions. The research provides insights into individual characteristics and institutional attributes associated with institutional trust. This study is a “first cut” at a complicated concept and at exploring what is needed to rebuild institutional trust. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 240 pages].

Stronger Together: A Strategy to Revitalize Transatlantic Power

Stronger Together: A Strategy to Revitalize Transatlantic Power. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. December 2020

A group of experts and former government officials from Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) convened strategists from the United States and Europe over the past year to discuss the crisis in the transatlantic relationship and to propose a strategy to revive and strengthen it. We Europeans and Americans launched this project due to our shared commitment to the transatlantic relationship. We met throughout 2020—first in Munich and Berlin and then virtually during the pandemic—to develop a truly transatlantic fusion of ideas and strategy.  [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 100 pages].

Unexpected Competition: A US Strategy to Keep its Central and Eastern European Allies as Allies in an Era of Great-Power Competition

Unexpected Competition: A US Strategy to Keep its Central and Eastern European Allies as Allies in an Era of Great-Power Competition.   Atlantic Council. John Blocher. November 22, 2020.    

As China and Russia make inroads with traditional US allies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the United States is faced with unexpected competition. To keep these US allies as allies for years to come, policymakers should heed the roadmap offered in this strategy paper, which focuses on the case study of Hungary to recommend ways to deepen alliances with CEE nations. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 40 pages].

Preparing Children and Youth for Civic Life in the Era of Truth Decay: Insights from the American Teacher Panel

Preparing Children and Youth for Civic Life in the Era of Truth Decay: Insights from the American Teacher Panel. RAND Corporation. Laura S. Hamilton, Julia H. Kaufman, Lynn Hu. December 7, 2020.

Public schools that serve students in kindergarten through grade 12 are responsible for not only promoting students’ readiness for college and careers but also educating students to engage civically and contribute to their communities and country as adults. Civic education refers broadly to the process through which schools and other institutions help students develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will prepare them for civic life. Researchers conducted a nationally representative survey of elementary (kindergarten through 5th grade) and secondary (6th through 12th grade) teachers offering social studies in U.S. public schools. Results from this survey demonstrate how social studies teachers in U.S. public schools promote students’ civic learning, teachers’ beliefs about the importance of civic-related topics and skills, and which conditions they perceive as supporting or hindering civic education. This report, which is part of the Truth Decay initiative, extends analyses presented in other reports in the series. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 166 pages].

Democratic Offense against Disinformation

Democratic Offense against Disinformation. Atlantic Council. Alina Polyakova, Daniel Fried. December 2, 2020.

While democratic states have made great progress in defending against disinformation and foreign interference, this report suggests it is time to go on the offensive to stop bad information actors in their tracks. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 32 pages].

The United States and Central Europe: A Road Map for a Democratic Post-Pandemic Agenda

The United States and Central Europe: A Road Map for a Democratic Post-Pandemic Agenda.   Atlantic Council.  Daniel Fried et al. October 19, 2020

A generation ago, the United States and Central Europe helped lead the West’s post-Cold War agenda of enlarging the democratic space. The peoples of Central Europe, with the support of the United States as well as Western Europe, overthrew their imposed communist regimes and enacted democratic, free-market reforms, seeking to become part of a Europe whole, free, and at peace. Alliance and integration with an undivided transatlantic community brought to Central Europe a generation of general peace and prosperity, to the benefit of Europe as a whole and the United States. We face different circumstances today and sharp challenges due to the novel coronavirus crisis, but the core principle for success—democratic solidarity—remains. As the transatlantic community faces the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic grapple with questions of recovery, the current moment represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The Atlantic Council and GLOBSEC’s second report, “The United States and Central Europe: A Road Map for a Democratic Post-Pandemic Agenda” outlines these themes and advocates for a common US-Central European agenda in seeking a better post-COVID-19 world. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 15 pages].

From Voter Registration to Mail-In Ballots, How Do Countries Around the World Run Their Elections?

From Voter Registration to Mail-In Ballots, How Do Countries Around the World Run Their Elections? Pew Research Center.  Shannon Schumacher And Aidan Connaughton. October 30, 2020.

The 2020 U.S. presidential election is unfolding amid a pandemic and public uncertainty over some aspects of the voting process itself. Here’s a look at how elections are run in the United States and other countries around the world. All findings are based on a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network and the Electoral Integrity Project. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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