Abstract:This presentation analyzes and compares China and Russia's influence operations against Europe since the 2010s. Both countries are often portrayed as nationalist and authoritarian powers that have sought to destabilize a supposedly 'liberal' Europe through disinformation, propaganda, espionage, etc... While this might be true to some extent, the talk argues that there are considerable differences between the two in the way they conduct influence operations. China's preferred option has been first and foremost through economic and technological means. Russia has sought to tap on supposedly more value oriented tactics, especially exploiting the weariness of some with 'liberalism'. The talk will consider what these two IO approaches mean for the EU and how it could meet these challenges.

Bio: Tae Hoon Kim is an Associate Senior Lecturer in Military History at the Swedish Defense University. He is a retired army intelligence officer who served at the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff and other field army commands in the Republic of Korea.

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