May 5, 2021
People often ask me why Russian disinformation about our elections on Facebook or Twitter really matters, especially when there’s no evidence that voter rolls or tallies have been hacked. These folks argue that it’s just the Russians messing around on our social media, trying to have some fun at our expense, and that it doesn’t actually impact people’s votes.
But this disinformation does influence voters’ political beliefs, what they think about individual candidates, and thus ultimately how they vote. We see example after example of this being true. That’s the point of it — and why these countries invest so much in a tactic that is often hard to spot but so easily seeps into voters’ consciences without them even realizing it.
This disinformation also represents a bigger battle than just any one individual election. It is among the principal tactics that dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin are using to wage war against the very idea of democracy itself.
Last week, President Joe Biden gave his first address to a joint session of Congress. (In a president’s first year in office, it’s not technically called a “State of the Union” speech, but that’s effectively what it is.) Biden hit on a related and overarching theme that he has repeatedly emphasized in public comments: how this moment in global history is defined by a struggle between democracy and autocracy.
In some ways, it’s a new version of the Cold War: a battle of ideas about which system of government better serves its people. Autocratic regimes, such as Russia and China, want to demonstrate what they view as inherent weakness in democratic systems: that they’re too messy and people are too divided to actually form consensus and make decisions. These leaders argue that only through strongman leadership (and yes, it’s almost always men in these positions) can they provide their citizens with stability and prevent chaos.
This battle is being fought all over the world, and foreign interference in democratic elections is at the heart of this struggle because it is designed to make people doubt their government and question whether their vote matters.
This debate between governmental systems is not just an esoteric or intellectual one that exists to keep political scientists busy. Whether the next century is defined by a rise of autocracies or a resurgence of democracies will determine so many things that impact people’s lives: the likelihood of armed conflict, how the world is able to rebuild after this pandemic, and whether there is any possibility of global collective action against future pandemics or weapons proliferators or terrorist organizations. Not to mention the impact on individuals in the areas of human rights, political freedoms, equality, and justice.
Here’s what Biden said in his speech about this challenge:
The question of whether our democracy will long endure is both ancient and urgent, as old as our Republic — still vital today. Can our democracy deliver on its promise that all of us, created equal in the image of God, have a chance to lead lives of dignity, respect, and possibility? Can our democracy deliver the most — to the most pressing needs of our people? Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate, and fears that have pulled us apart?
America’s adversaries –- the autocrats of the world –- are betting we can’t. And I promise you, they’re betting we can’t. They believe we’re too full of anger and division and rage. They look at the images of the mob that assaulted the Capitol as proof that the sun is setting on American democracy. But they are wrong. You know it; I know it. But we have to prove them wrong. We have to prove democracy still works — that our government still works and we can deliver for our people.
I write and think a lot about the fact that twenty years after 9/11, our nation is still working to define what our overarching global mission is, because it certainly isn’t the war on terrorism overseas. This struggle may well be that defining organizing principle. Biden and others are rightly focused, in my opinion, on making sure democracies demonstrate very clearly to their citizens (and to global citizens) the benefits that their system of government holds for them.
What we don’t want is people using democratic means to usher in non-democratic practices, something we’ve seen too often, or more and more citizens giving up on the democratic process altogether and opening the door to increasingly autocratic rule. That’s why it’s so vital, whatever side of the political aisle you’re on, to work to ensure our democracy thrives and cannot fall prey to those who would wish it harm.
*If you’re interested in reading more about the current threats to democracy worldwide, check out Yascha Mounk’s book “The People vs. Democracy.” While I don’t agree with everything in it, it is a smart look at the notion that we cannot assume democracy as a principle will continue to grow in popularity and confront the real dangers in challenges to it.*
Marie Harf
International Elections Analyst, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative
Marie Harf is a strategist who has focused her career on promoting American foreign policy to domestic audiences. She has held senior positions at the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, worked on political campaigns for President Barack Obama and Congressman Seth Moulton, and served as a cable news commentator. Marie has also been an Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and a Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.