Russia鈥檚 history of covert electoral influence with David Shimer
Air Dates: October 12-18, 2020
Over the last four years, Americans have heard a lot about Russian interference in our elections. David Shimer says we haven鈥檛 heard the whole story about the Cold War, 2016, or 2020.
Shimer is an expert on election security, U.S.-Russian relations, and covert action. He is the author of 鈥淩igged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference,鈥 a New York Times Editors鈥 Choice book. His reporting and analysis have been published in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs. He has appeared on CNN and MSNBC to discuss the threat of foreign election interference, and he has been interviewed by the New York Times, NPR, and Politico about American and Russian foreign policy. Shimer is an Associate Fellow of Yale University, where he received his undergraduate and master鈥檚 degrees in history, and is pursuing a doctorate in international relations at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar.
On this episode of 鈥淪tory in the Public Square,鈥 Shimer describes writing his book 鈥淩igged鈥 to detail the history of Russia鈥檚 covert electoral interference to what came before its operation in the U.S. presidential election in 2016. He says Russia鈥檚 foreign policy has evolved from spreading communism to tearing down democracy and from engaging in an ideological struggle to a power struggle. He adds, 鈥淩ussia鈥檚 strategy to divide democracies from within [鈥 gives [it] new opportunities for influence, which is why you鈥檝e seen Russia supporting authoritarian-minded, divisive candidates and causes around the world.鈥
鈥Story in the Public Square鈥 broadcasts each week on public television stations across the United States. In Rhode Island and southeastern New England, the show is broadcast on Rhode Island PBS on Sundays at 11 a.m. and is rebroadcast Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. An audio version of the program airs Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. ET, Sundays at 3:30 a.m. & 11:30 p.m. ET on SiriusXM鈥檚 popular P.O.T.U.S. (Politics of the United States), channel 124. 鈥淪tory in the Public Square鈥 is a partnership between the Pell Center and The Providence Journal. The initiative aims to study, celebrate and tell stories that matter.