The Long Arms of Authoritarian States: Suppressing Independent Voices within and beyond their Borders (ARM)
Aim
Description
Analyzing Russia, China, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, ARM conceptualises and addresses different forms of FIMI. The project will explore the extent that major global players like China and Russia, alongside Ethiopia and Rwanda, engage in transnational information suppression, particularly targeting European diaspora communities.
The ARM Project is a 38-month Horizon Europe-funded project that started in January 2024. The project is broken down into eight work packages with four case studies and 13 public deliverables.
The project will deliver academic papers, field blogs and policy briefs, together with a catalogue of the tactics, techniques and procedures used to carry out FIMI and a toolkit of practical countermeasures. These eight work packages will all collaborate to deliver the projects goal of effective research for increased information freedom.
Project coordinator
- Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway
Project partners
- University of Helsinki, Finland
- Hertie School of Governance, Germany
- Lund University, Sweden
- Panteion Univesity of Social and Political Sciences, Greece
- Maastricht University, Netherlands
- University of Bergen, Norway
- University of Tromsø, - The Artic Univesity of Norway, Norway
- WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany
- University of Tartu, Estonia
Project Team
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 Asst. Prof. Dr. sc. pol. Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova Manager, China Studies Centre Academic Staff, Faculty of Social Sciences Lead researcher, scientific project manager, China Studies Centre Director, Social Sciences doctoral programme, Department of Doctoral Studies China Studies Centre 30 Kristapa iela, Riga 005 (ground floor) |  Vineta Kleinberga Faculty of Social Sciences 9c Kuldīgas iela, Riga |
Presentations at Scientific Conferences
22.10.2025. Juzefovičs, J., Kleinberga, V., Bērziņa-Čerenkova, U.A. Exploring Baltic Russophones’ perceptions of Russian information suppression. Aleksanteri Conference 2025. Extremisms: Ambiguities, Ideologies, Agency, 22-24 October 2025, Helsinki.
