In 2016, Michael Poznansky wrote “The Ordinary and Unique Russia’s Electoral Information Warfare Game,” where he argued that while Russia has consistently interfered in elections globally, the unique circumstances of the Donald Trump–Hillary Clinton election created a singular opportunity for the Russian government to interfere in a U.S. presidential election. In the wake of years of continued interference attempts, we invited Michael back to reflect on his article.Read more below.Image: Kremlin.ruIn your 2016 article “The Ordinary and Unique in Russia’s Electoral Information Warfare Game,” you argued that while Russia has consistently interfered in elections globally, the unique circumstances of the Donald Trump–Hillary Clinton election created a singular opportunity for the Russian government to interfere in a U.S. presidential election. How has Russian involvement in U.S. elections evolved in the past eight years?With respect to President Vladmir Putin’s general interest in interfering in U.S. elections, things haven’t changed one iota. We know from public reporting and declassified intelligence assessments that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2018 midterm election, the 2020 presidential election, and the 2022 midterm election. They are trying again this cycle, too. Putin’s motives aren’t terribly hard to divine. Some of them are evergreen, like knocking the United States down a peg, sowing division. Others are more situational, to include promoting candidates and narratives skeptical of U.S. assistance to Ukraine (more on that below). And, of course, there is the 800-pound gorilla in the room: former president Donald Trump. The intelligence community assessed that during the 2020 election, “Russian leaders preferred that former President Trump win reelection despite perceiving some of his administration’s policies as anti-Russia.” I’d bet they have the same preference in this election. At the same time, Russia has become more sophisticated in its information operations. Russian operatives have “a better command of American political discourse
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In 2016, Michael Poznansky wrote “The Ordinary and Unique Russia’s Electoral Information Warfare Game,” where he argued that while Russia has consistently interfered in elections globally, the unique circumstances of the Donald Trump–Hillary Clinton election created a singular opportunity for the Russian government to interfere in a U.S. presidential election. In the wake of years of continued interference attempts, we invited Michael back to reflect on his article.Read more below.In your 2016 article “The Ordinary and Unique in Russia’s Electoral Information Warfare Game,” you argued that while Russia has consistently interfered in elections globally, the unique circumstances of the Donald Trump–Hillary
