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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2018 (Revised June 2019)

  Everybody Knows: Russia and the Election

  Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Galit Goldstein

  Following a contentious presidential race, Donald Trump’s 2016 election destabilized America’s status quo. Academics, journalists, politicians and the public at large examined why Trump had won. Many Americans, inside and outside the government, asserted that a state-led Russian disinformation campaign had influenced the election’s outcome. The leaders of major social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook, also conceded that state actors had gamed their platforms to influence American politics. Trump himself made conflicting statements, while Russian politicians asserted that American elites had rhetorically weaponized the issue of election interference to justify an unwillingness to work with their country internationally. It was hard to parse where reality ended and political rhetoric began. Post-election, the future of U.S.-Russia relations remained unclear, and the United States grappled with how to regulate cyberspace. Analyzing the 2016 election and its aftershocks helps students confront interrelated questions about business regulation, international relations, cultural identity, strategic communications, political will and the Internet. The case encourages students to consider the boundary between narrative and reality, and examine subjectivity, objectivity and power in the public and private sectors.

  Keywords: Strategic industry; strategic alliances (business); Business and Government; business and public policy; business and society; Media Businesses; media content; media slant; media regulation; social media; internet of everything; government policy; politics; political campaigns; political strategy; political turmoil; government; Government Regulation; Security; international business; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; News; Media; Internet; Rights; Problems and Challenges; Globalization; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Government Legislation; Risk and Uncertainty; Cognition and Thinking; Conflict and Resolution; Identity; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; War; Online Technology; Public Administration Industry; United States; Russia;

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi, Rafael Di Tella, and Galit Goldstein. "Everybody Knows: Russia and the Election." Harvard Business School Case 719-012, October 2018. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2018 (Revised June 2019)

  The Rise of Populism and Italy's Electoral 'Tsunami'

  Rawi Abdelal, Dante Roscini and Elena Corsi

  Italy’s March 2018 elections led to a populist government that included the right-wing League and the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement. To respect their electoral promises, the two parties came up with a budget plan that provided for a public deficit at 2.4%, a figure higher than what the previous administration had promised the EU Commission. On October 23, 2018, the EU Commission rejected the plan asking Italy to revise downwards the public deficit. The same day, Italian bond yields spoke to 4-year highs, up to 3.7% as investors questioned Italy’s capacity to repay its public long-term debt, the second highest in the EU. Would the Italian government be able to implement its plan?

  Keywords: globalized economies; unemployment; extremism; Political Elections; Immigration; Poverty; Social Issues; Government and Politics; Financial Condition; Financial Markets; Italy;

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi, Dante Roscini, and Elena Corsi. "The Rise of Populism and Italy's Electoral 'Tsunami'." Harvard Business School Case 719-042, November 2018. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

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• Other Article | National Interest | May 28, 2019

  How Russia Found a Disinformation Haven in America

  Rawi Abdelal and Galit Goldstein

  The Mueller Report established that “the Russians” undertook information operations campaigns to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Though this has been clear for a long time, Americans continue to discuss Russian information operations in the wrong way. Russia’s disinformation strategy hinges on the fact that it is nearly impossible for people stuck in alternate realities with incompatible truth claims to undertake civil discourse. Their strategy would have succeeded if either Trump or Clinton had won and can only be countered by policy elites deeply questioning how “Russia” could better understand anti-establishment American discourse movements than American policymakers themselves. Expertly co-opting trends of political thought concerned with racism, sexism, LGBTQ+ issues and elitism long dismissed as “fringe,” the Russian campaigns drew from the digital advertising toolbox to troll epistemologically unstable and dissatisfied people across our political divide. Democratic systems must now take a foundational approach to countering state-sponsored information operations campaigns by addressing structural and intellectual weaknesses that leave populations vulnerable to online disinformation. This will involve tech sector regulation, infused with a hefty dose of suspicion about whether tech leaders are acting in good faith, as well as self-examination on the part of elites.

  Keywords: Elections; Donald Trump; social media; Political Elections; National Security; Technology; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Russia; United States;

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi, and Galit Goldstein. "How Russia Found a Disinformation Haven in America." National Interest (May 28, 2019).  View Details

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