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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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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | April 2019 (Revised May 2019)

  Liberté, égalité, fragilité: The Rise of Populism in France (B)

  Vincent Pons and Elena Corsi

  Citation:

  Pons, Vincent, and Elena Corsi. "Liberté, égalité, fragilité: The Rise of Populism in France (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 719-075, April 2019. (Revised May 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2019

  CareerWise Colorado

  Rawi Abdelal, Joseph B. Fuller and Matthew Preble

  CareerWise Colorado (CWC) is an organization that equips high school students with the skills to build successful careers through apprenticeships. Founded in 2016, the young organization has attracted interest from different groups and civic leaders from across the U.S., some of whom want to replicate CWC’s model, and others who want CWC to bring and then operate its program in their localities. Noel Ginsburg, CWC’s founder and CEO, and Ashley Carter, COO, now have to decide how, when, and where to grow CWC. They both believe in CWC’s apprenticeship model’s widespread applicability, but so far it is still a relatively small—with just over 200 active apprentices spread across two cohorts; all of whom live in Colorado—and unproven entity. As of late 2018, no apprentices had yet completed the three year program. They did not want to scale the program too soon, but Ginsburg and Carter also did not want to miss out on the attractive opportunities being presented to them. How should they scale this organization?

  Keywords: apprenticeship; nonprofit; not for profit; labor markets; skills; Nonprofit Organizations; Education; Competency and Skills; Personal Development and Career; Growth and Development Strategy;

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi, Joseph B. Fuller, and Matthew Preble. "CareerWise Colorado." Harvard Business School Case 319-001, March 2019.  View Details

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