Date of Submission

Fall 2018

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Global and International Studies

Project Advisor 1

Michelle Murray

Project Advisor 2

Chris McIntosh

Abstract/Artist's Statement

ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to illustrate the ways in which Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election differs from its previous efforts to interfere in democratic processes and elections around the world. It presents three distinct factors that distinguish Russia’s 2016 campaign from its previous efforts: 1) the deployment of cyber technology and social media to manipulate public opinion and perception; 2) the simultaneous backing of ideological groups across the political spectrum to achieve societal disruption; and 3) the influence of external forces such as luck and good timing. Collectively, these circumstances establish a scope of Russian interference that was previously underemphasized. An extensive, historical examination of Moscow’s behavior will facilitate the deepest understanding of this unprecedented attack on American democracy, and will inform future strategic approaches used to confront the threat of foreign interference.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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