Where the Truth Lies – News in the Era of Social Media and “the Economy of Attention”
“The more [people] are instructed, the less liable they are to the delusions of enthusiasm and superstition, which, among ignorant nations, frequently occasion the most dreadful disorders.” – Adam Smith …
Tackling Disinformation the European Way
Between May 23 and 26, 2019, more than 300 million voters will take to the ballot boxes across twenty-seven European nations, and, in doing so, will participate in one of …
Strategic Resource Sharing is Essential to Securing Election Infrastructure for the 2020 Election Season
Secure and resilient election infrastructure is the cornerstone of a thriving and reliable democratic system of government. The U.S. is grappling with how to best equip state and local election …
Beyond Elections’ Digital Propaganda: Need for Improvement of Public Debates
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, we have been increasingly facing non-military threats, including digital disinformation campaigns, which have a world-wide effect. In the context of national and international …
Defending Democratic Institutions and Processes: A Call for a Multi-Stakeholder Response
Running a political campaign was never an easy endeavor. That is not necessarily negative. Few worthwhile endeavors can ever be considered “easy” and it is arguably the struggle against meaningful …
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Why We Need to Think about a “Disinformation CERT”
In order to function properly, democracies depend on open deliberations and fact-based discussions. As our public discourses have increasingly moved online, social media platforms have become critical infrastructures for our …
Populists Keep Winning the Messaging War in Europe Over Migration
European leaders gathered twice last year to try and develop an EU-wide approach to the still-divisive issues of migration and the integration of refugees, and both times they failed to reach …
What We Learned about German Politics In 2018 and What It Means for 2019
2018 was a chaotic and transforming year in German politics. It marked the beginning of the end of the Merkel era’s thirteen-year run. The graphic below, published in the Politbarometer …
Ovation Diplomacy: The Shortsightedness of President Trump’s Foreign Policy
Speaking in Brussels on December 4, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a name to the philosophy guiding President Trump’s foreign policy: “principled-realism.” Secretary Pompeo likes to think of …
The Radicalization of the Extreme Right: Charlottesville and Chemnitz
As a DAAD/AICGS Research Fellow from October to December 2018, Prof. Dr. Hajo Funke looked at the developments of two extreme-right events, in Charlottesville and Chemnitz, including the conditions of …
Negative Campaigning in the U.S Midterm Elections and Implications for Germany
As a DAAD/AICGS Research Fellow in November and December 2018, Susanne Thelen examined the differences between German and American campaign strategies, asking: Can U.S. campaign strategies serve as a role …
Industry and Government Leaders Call for New Election Standards to Protect Democracy
Meeting for a third German-American Cybersecurity Roundtable in Brussels on November 16, industry leaders joined government officials in calling for a more coordinated effort to secure election infrastructure and to …
The Dilemmas of Promoting Gender Equality in Times of Polarization
The political landscapes in both countries are characterized by increasing polarization. In the U.S., a man became president who makes a spectacle of himself through derogative language and who tends …
The CDU Faces Pressure to Move Right—That Could Backfire
Today, Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is meeting in Hamburg to choose a new leader—a decision with massive ramifications for national and European politics. This moment represents the first opportunity …
