#DemoTalks3: creating resilience against foreign interference

The third #DemoTalks event, 'Creating Islands of Resilience against Foreign Interference', took place on 12 May 2026. The discussion explored how France, Italy and Canada are tackling foreign disinformation and interference, both as a foreign policy challenge and a test of democratic resilience.

The discussion highlighted a growing consensus that foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) is not simply a communications issue. It is increasingly treated as a strategic challenge affecting democratic resilience, national security and the credibility of foreign policy. While national approaches differ, the exchange pointed to a shared shift towards more institutionalised responses, closer inter-agency coordination and stronger international cooperation.

Key takeaways included:

• FIMI is increasingly seen as a foreign policy issue because it affects democratic resilience, diplomatic credibility and national security.
• Ministries of Foreign Affairs are building more permanent structures, analytical capacity and inter-agency coordination to respond.
• International cooperation remains essential because cross-border interference requires shared analysis and coordinated responses.

Why FIMI is a foreign policy issue

Participants stressed that FIMI sits squarely at the intersection of domestic vulnerability and geopolitical competition. It can distort public debate, weaken trust in democratic institutions and constrain governments’ ability to act externally. For Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA), this makes the issue more than a matter of public messaging: it is about protecting diplomatic credibility, understanding cross-border threats and helping shape international responses that defend open societies.

How ministries are organising their response

The discussion also showed that countries are building more permanent structures to deal with the challenge. Although institutional models vary, the trend is towards dedicated analytical capacity, stronger links between diplomatic and security actors, and clearer coordination across government. Rather than treating interference as an ad hoc crisis, ministries are increasingly embedding it within broader work on hybrid threats, strategic communications and democratic resilience.

Why collaboration between countries matters

Because information manipulation crosses borders so easily, national responses on their own are not enough. Participants underlined the importance of sharing analysis, comparing institutional practice and building cooperation through regional and multilateral platforms. In this sense, resilience depends not only on stronger national institutions, but also on closer collaboration among democratic partners facing similar forms of interference.

An archipelago of resilience

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the imperative to connect national responses into a broader democratic ecosystem. Rather than relying on a single centralised approach, participants pointed to the power of what one speaker called an "archipelago of resilience" where institutions, governments and cross-border partnerships that, like islands in a chain, are distinct yet connected, each reinforces the others against the tides of shared threats.