Disruptive foreign influence

Foreign pressure

Nature

The vitality of a particular society can impinge, regionally and globally, on many other nation-states in a number of ways, acting through a variety of mechanisms. Most notable of the influences of one state on another is that upon human behaviour, which includes language, customs, dress and consumer preferences. The foreign influences may also affect social relations, societal structures from the nuclear family upwards, values, norms, religious beliefs and cultural, ethnic or national identities. All foreign influences are disruptive to the extent that they usually introduce change in an abrupt manner. This is particularly true with regard to the artificially stimulated demand for free-market, developed countries' consumer products in less developed countries. Countries with significant aboriginal populations, or extremely low standards of living, are market targets for numerous sophisticated products that by any criteria would be called luxuries, or for products that are health hazards.

Background

Disruptive foreign influence emerged as a recognized global concern during the Cold War, when covert interventions and propaganda campaigns revealed the extent of external manipulation in domestic affairs. Subsequent decades saw heightened awareness as digital technologies enabled new forms of interference, notably in elections and public discourse. High-profile incidents, such as the 2016 US presidential election, underscored the evolving sophistication and reach of foreign actors, prompting international debate and research into the phenomenon’s implications.

Incidence

The intensive marketing of milk powders for bottle feeding of infants in countries where mothers are illiterate and do not understand the need to sterilize bottles or to avoid over-dilution or exposure of the formula to pests, and where mothers find too late that they can no longer pay for more milk powder or breast-feed their babies, has resulted in higher rates of infant mortality.

Claim

Disruptive foreign influence is a grave and urgent threat to our national security, democracy, and social cohesion. Allowing hostile actors to manipulate our institutions, spread disinformation, and undermine public trust is utterly unacceptable. Ignoring this problem risks eroding our sovereignty and destabilizing our society from within. We must recognize disruptive foreign influence as a top priority and take decisive action to protect our nation’s integrity and the future of our democracy.

Counter-claim

The alarm over "disruptive foreign influence" is vastly overblown and distracts from real, pressing issues. Societies are resilient, and the idea that outside actors can meaningfully sway our institutions or beliefs is exaggerated. Blaming foreign influence for domestic problems is a convenient excuse for poor governance and policy failures. Instead of fearmongering, we should focus on strengthening our own systems rather than obsessing over an overhyped, largely inconsequential threat.