Voting: Uses & Abuses

September 24, 2018

Thomas Rid, Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Asuka Matsumoto, Visiting Scholar, Edwin O. Reischauer Center
Colin Cookman, Program Officer, United States Institute of Peace
Moderated By Michael Sutherland, Editor-in-Chief, SAIS Review  

The SAIS Review of International Affairs held a launch event for its newest issue, Voting: Uses & Abuses. The new issue is a collection of work from academics and policymakers examining the various actors involved in elections throughout the world, and the political implications of calling, participating in, and even sometimes undermining elections. 

Three contributing authors presented their articles and participated in a panel discussion on the broader issues of voting and elections.

Thomas Rid discussed the many vulnerabilities democracies face when confronting cybersecurity threats during elections and offered suggestions for improving a democratic society's ability to respond to these threats.

Asuka Matsumoto highlighted elements of her comparative study of internet campaigning in Japan and the United States, and explained that there are critical lessons that each country can learn from the other about how to verify and disseminate information about candidates in an election.

Colin Cookman spoke about his research on the efficacy of the current parliamentary election process in Afghanistan. Cookman elaborated upon the complexity of the Afghan election system and the numerous actors that attempt to use, undermine, and sometimes circumvent the system in order to gain influence.

The discussion ended with questions from the audience on a number of issues, including how to think about threats to the upcoming midterm elections in the United States.

For more information about The SAIS Review of International Affairs, or to inquire about subscriptions, please visit SAIS Review's website. Each author's article is also available on Project Muse at the following locations:

Thomas Rid and Benjamin Buchanan, Hacking Democracy
Asuka Matsumoto, Internet Campaigning in the US and Japan: Battles in Cyber Space
Colin Cookman, Elections as a Disputed Power Sharing Mechanism in Afghanistan