How does an authoritarian state shape its strategy of international influence while exploiting the principles of openness and pluralism at the heart of liberal democracies? This is the undeniably key question that Maxime Audinet seeks to answer in his meticulous study of RT (formerly Russia Today) entitled Un média d'influence d'Etat - Enquête sur la chaîne russe RT (INA, 2024). This transnational media network, founded in 2005 at the initiative of the Kremlin, is today one of the pillars of Russia's informational influence abroad. Present in many countries, including France until it was banned by the European Union in 2022, it presents itself as an "alternative" to the supposed univocality of the Western mainstream media. Its stated aim is to "break the monopoly of the Anglo-Saxon media", in the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with a resolutely relativistic stance that follows the contours of "post-truth". At a time of war in Ukraine, studying Russia Today allows us to take a broader look at the propaganda and information manipulation methodically put in place by certain authoritarian regimes to influence international public opinion.
Maxime Audinet holds a PhD in Slavic Studies and Political Science from the University of Paris-Nanterre and is a researcher at the Institut de recherche stratégique de l'École militaire (IRSEM). His research focuses on the actors and practices of Russia's informational influence, and their projection in the post-Soviet space, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. More broadly, the author is interested in the role of influence in the foreign policy of authoritarian states.
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