Political Propaganda and Disinformation

In the framework of “Political Propaganda and Disinformation”, students will gain general knowledge about propaganda history, evolution, forms, and motives. Special attention will be paid to the term: “hybrid war” which employs cyber warfare, fake news, fabrications, economic diplomacy, and foreign electoral intervention.

The major part of the course lectures will be dedicated to Russian propaganda - its aims, tactics, narratives, and actors. Thanks to the case study method, we will analyze the Kremlin propagandistic operations in the countries where Moscow is actively seeking to gain political control.

Another important topic covers fact-checking and debunking issues – how to build resilience to disinformation?

In addition, the students will have the opportunity to highlight propagandistic fabrications and get information about the main actors that disseminate pro-Russian political narratives on the daily basis.

The added value of the course is its interactive format and contemporary field-specific literature. Students will be able to actively participate in the learning process, ask questions and engage in discussions.

Lecture 1. Course Presentation, Brief History, Evolution, Forms, and Motives of Propaganda

Jowett, Garth and Victoria O’Donnell. 2012. Propaganda and Persuasion. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, Inc. 1-48.

Lecture 2. Modern Russian propaganda: Goals, Narratives, Tactics, and Actors

Pynnoniemi, Katri, and András Rácz. 2016. Fog of Falsehood. Helsinki: Grano Oy. 71-125.

Pomerantsev, Peter and Michael Weiss. 2015. The Menace of Unreality. New York: Digital City Services, LLC. 14-42.

Pomerantsev, Peter, 2015. Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia. New York: Public Affairs. 5-95.

Lecture 3. Russian Propaganda in Poland

Fischer, Dušan. 2017. Information Warfare on the Internet - Exposing and Countering pro-Kremlin Disinformation in the CEEC - Project Summary in Slovakia. Bratislava: Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. 20-26.

Pynnoniemi, Katri, and András Rácz. 2016. Fog of Falsehood. Helsinki: Grano Oy. 247-263.

Lecture 4. Russia Propaganda in Slovakia

Conley, Heather and Ruslan Stefanov. 2016. The Kremlin Playbook. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. 53-57.

Fischer, Dušan. 2017. Information Warfare on the Internet - Exposing and Countering pro-Kremlin Disinformation in the CEEC - Project Summary in Slovakia. Bratislava: Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. 18-20.

Pynnoniemi, Katri, and András Rácz. 2016. Fog of Falsehood. Helsinki: Grano Oy. 295-300.

Lecture 5. Russian Propaganda in the Czech Republic

Fischer, Dušan. 2017. Information Warfare on the Internet - Exposing and Countering pro-Kremlin Disinformation in the CEEC - Project Summary in Slovakia. Bratislava: Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. 3-10.

Pynnoniemi, Katri, and András Rácz. 2016. Fog of Falsehood. Helsinki: Grano Oy. 277-288.

Smoleňová, Ivana. 2015. The Pro-Russian Disinformation Campaign in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Prague: Prague Security Studies Institute. 6-17.

Lecture 6. Russian Propaganda in Hungary

Conley, Heather and Ruslan Stefanov. 2016. The Kremlin Playbook. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. 36-42.

Fischer, Dušan. 2017. Information Warfare on the Internet - Exposing and Countering pro-Kremlin Disinformation in the CEEC - Project Summary in Slovakia. Bratislava: Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. 11-14.

Hegedűs, Dániel. 2016. The Kremlin’s Influence in Hungary. Berlin: DGAP e.v..,. 1-11.

Lecture 7. “Russian World” vs USA:

Foxall, Andrew, 2016. Putin’s Cyberwar: Russia’s Statecraft in the Fifth Domain. New York: The Henry Jackson Society. 2-12.

Christopher Paul and Miriam Matthews. 2016. The Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation. 1-14.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence. 2016. Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections. Washington: CIA. 1-12.

Shteyngart, Gary. 2015. Out of My Mouth Comes Unimpeachable Manly Truth. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/magazine/out-of-my-mouth-comes-unimpeachable-manly-truth.html accessed 23 June, 2021.

Lecture 8. Russian Influences in Western Europe: Political, Economic and Information Captures.

Vojtíšková, Vladislava and Vít Novotný, 2016. The Bear in Sheep’s Clothing Russia’s Government-Funded Organisations in the EU. Brussels: Wilfred Martens Centre for European Studies. 15-67.

Samadashvili, Salome. 2015. Muzzling the Bear. Strategic Defence for Russia’s Undeclared Information War on Europe. Brussels: Wilfred Martens Centre for European Studies. 17-52.

Lecture 9. Chinese Revisionism:

Clarke, Michael. 2020. Is China Heading Towards Revolutionary Revisionism? Australian Institute of International Affairs. https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/is-china-heading-towards-revolutionary-revisionism/ accessed: 23 June 2021