The primary goals of strategic communication comprise from both an informative role for domestic and international audiences regarding the nation’s values, identity, capabilities, and actions, as well as a strategic security aspect to monitor, analyze, and respond to international political developments to enhance the nation’s position and avert potentially destabilizing actions from adversaries.

Slovakia finds itself grappling with a number of consecutive crises that extend beyond the bounds of the health system, geopolitics, and energy issues. The overarching political instability in the region, compounded by the enduring challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and energy concerns, was exacerbated by an internal political crisis that led to the fall of the Slovak government in December 2022 and subsequent snap election that took place recently. The political instability, accompanied by decades-long corruption, created a corrosive effect of alarmingly low trust in government institutions, media, and even democracy. These issues have created a particularly challenging environment for strategic communication. As a consequence, the impact of governmental communication on its priority issue areas has, so far, been minimal, despite the development of strategic communication units and initiatives under a national conceptual framework.

The Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI) has analyzed the financial background of disinformation in the Czech Republic since 2020. Research on disinformation usually focuses on its content, but often overlooks the financial aspects and the variety of motivations behind the spread of disinformation. Knowledge concerning these aspects is crucial for employing effective tools for countering disinformation and building a healthy information space with resilient audiences. The present report demonstrates that disinformation can be a financially profitable business and defunding should be explored as a counter-strategy to malign information activities.

Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI) analyzuje finanční pozadí dezinformací v České republice od roku 2020. Výzkum v oblasti dezinformací se obvykle zaměřuje na jejich obsah, často však přehlíží jejich finanční aspekty a rozmanitost motivací pro šíření dezinformací. Znalost těchto aspektů je klíčová pro výběr účinných nástrojů na potírání dezinformací a pro budování zdravého informačního prostoru s odolným publikem. Tato analýza dokazuje, že dezinformace mohou být ziskový byznys a demonetizace by se měla přezkoumat jako protistrategie k škodlivým informačním aktivitám.

This final report offers the results of Prague Security Studies Institute's latest research on democratic backsliding in the Western Balkans and Croatia (an EU member state), conducted between fall 2022 and spring 2023. 

There is a growing momentum within the U.S. legislative landscape to counter the risks associated with investments in Chinese companies - and Europe would be wise to pay attention to this. PSSI’s Elias Sköld highlights the growing concerns about U.S. investors funding Chinese state-controlled companies, including those supplying the Chinese military and committing egregious human rights abuses.

This op-ed provides insights into the complex political landscape and challenges faced by the Serbian community in Kosovo, highlighting the issues of political instrumentalization and marginalization of the Serbian community at the hands of political elites in Serbia, organized crime groups backed by political support, facilitation of malign influence, and the political dimension of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC).