Excited to share my new piece in the latest @ForeignAffairs, which argues that the global information contest is a key domain in Great Power competition.

China's info manipulation on COVID-19 is just the latest front in this contest. Some highlights: 1/ https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2020-04-13/making-cyberspace-safe-democracy

Both China and Russia have undertaken concerted efforts to use information as a tool of geopolitical power. But the United States and its democratic allies have been slow to recognize this contest and update their strategies. 2/

This is not just abt disinfo. This contest is to control, define, & govern info & the means by which it travels. If authoritarians succeed, states will increasingly control info & shape how citizens perceive reality. The world will be more authoritarian & less democratic. 3/

This contest includes 3 integrated dimensions: information (the propagation, control, & manipulation of narratives), architecture (the systems & platforms that transmit, order, & collect information), & governance (the laws, norms, & standards for content, data, & technology) 4/

Beijing and Moscow are executing efforts across all of these of these dimensions, while the U.S. and other democracies tends to silo our approaches to them, failing to see the full picture. 5/

Meanwhile, the democratic information model is falling short of its promise, with surveillance capitalism fueling the growing perception that the digital technology being developed in the United States is no different from that being developed in China. 6/

This is also an asymmetric space, where authoritarians' views of information as something to be controlled and manipulated provide them advantages. The challenge for democracies is to thwart authoritarians without playing into their hands. 7/

Instead of a reactive approach, the U.S. should work with its democratic partners to develop an updated information model that reflects democratic principles & puts individuals, not companies or governments, in control of how their data are collected and used. 8/

This would provide a clear contrast with the authoritarian model and an attractive alternative for other countries tempted by China’s side of a future bifurcated Internet. 9/

The U.S. also needs to take steps at home to update our laws around data privacy and tech regulation, while restructuring the way the U.S. government works on these issues. 10/

Meanwhile, we need new mechanisms for public-private cooperation. Technology companies and traditional media also need to grasp how malicious actors seek to turn their businesses into geopolitical battlegrounds. 11/

Finally, democratic leaders who weaponize info & disregard principles of democratic governance make societies less resilient, fail to demonstrate an alternative to the authoritarian model, & accelerate authoritarians goals. 12/

Much more in the piece, so please dig in, and I welcome comments! 13/

Finally, my work is informed by many colleagues, incl: @ShanthiKalathil @RushDoshi @peterpomeranzev @KMansted @He_Shumei @ChhabraT @adschina @apolyakova @noUpside @LindsayPGorman @EBKania @MarietjeSchaake @DaveShullman @wiczipedia @Walker_CT @persily @LarryDiamond @selectedwisdom