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Will and Capability: Western Governments' Response to Russian Disinformation Since 2013 / Brian McDowell.
- Format:
- Book
- Thesis/Dissertation
- Author/Creator:
- McDowell, Brian, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Political science.
- Rhetoric.
- Slavic studies.
- Political Science--Penn dissertations.
- Penn dissertations--Political Science.
- Local Subjects:
- Political science.
- Rhetoric.
- Slavic studies.
- Political Science--Penn dissertations.
- Penn dissertations--Political Science.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (246 pages)
- Distribution:
- Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2022
- Contained In:
- Dissertations Abstracts International 84-02A.
- Place of Publication:
- [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] : University of Pennsylvania, 2022.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- In 2013, the Kremlin resourced and launched a multiyear global operation to subvert democracy. The operation's main weapon was intentionally harmful information-disinformation-spread through networks of paid trolls, bot networks, and users around the world. The information was aimed at sowing division within democracies and between democracies, particularly in NATO and the European Union. Some governments chose stronger responses than others. What explains the variation in government responses? I argue that each democracy's combination of will and capability determined its response and that states with similar endowments of will and capability chose similar policies. I conduct an in depth cross-national of thirteen Western democracies supported by two case studies of specific states: Finland and the United States. My findings show that Kremlin disinformation has repeatedly adapted to changing contexts over the last century, is likely to continue adapting, and that Kremlin tactics having shown effectiveness, have spread to more state governments and even domestic actors. Future attacks will likely follow similar themes and patterns, so the lessons learned in this dissertation can help inform future responses.
- Notes:
- Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 84-02, Section: A.
- Advisors: Levendusky, Matthew; Committee members: Horowitz, Michael C.; Meredith, Marc; Weisiger, Alex.
- Department: Political Science.
- Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 2022.
- Local Notes:
- School code: 0175
- ISBN:
- 9798837503436
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license.
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