A EUROPE UNDER FOREIGN INFLUENCE: Does Democracy Have a Backbone?

Foreign influence operations (FIOs) have emerged as the defining security challenge for European democracies. Operating below the threshold of armed conflict, these campaigns exploit the structural openness of digital information environments to exacerbate domestic polarisation, distort political discourse, and constrain democratic decision-making at scale. This report argues that FIOs constitute the most significant contemporary threat to European democratic governance — not because they introduce new grievances, but because they systematically amplify and weaponise existing vulnerabilities within democratic societies.