The Rise of Disconnective Propaganda: Protecting Social Resilience as a Pillar of European Security

This article by Dr. Gregory Asmolov introduces "disconnective propaganda" as an emerging, under-recognized cognitive threat vector affecting societal resilience and mobilization efforts. As European countries face structural constraints in military recruitment, societal resilience and civilian mobilization capacity have become essential components of national security. Civilian COVID-19 aid networks and Ukraine's whole-of-society wartime response both demonstrate that horizontal, digitally-enabled self-organization has become a decisive strategic asset.

The article argues that hostile actors, particularly Russia, have adapted their information operations accordingly: rather than seeking to persuade audiences, adversarial disconnective propaganda deliberately targets the social infrastructure of collective action -- trust, volunteer networks, and coordination mechanisms -- to degrade a society's capacity to mobilize when needed. For that purpose, disconnective propaganda employs mechanisms such as polarization and fragmentation, delegitimization of civic organizers, participatory propaganda and digital vigilantism, disruption of crisis communication, and influence over digital governance debates.

Finally, the report presents five policy recommendations for European stakeholders:

• Reframe counter-propaganda around protecting resilience, rather than fact-checking.

• Integrate "resilience disruption" metrics into FIMI monitoring frameworks.

• Consider influence defense a component of civil defense and reserve policy.

• Strengthen and protect local information ecologies.

• Assess digital regulation for its potential impact on horizontal connectivity.

Together, these measures complement the European Democracy Shield and Preparedness Union Strategy by addressing a fairly underdeveloped dimension of European resilience: safeguarding society’s crucial capacity to communicate, organize, and mobilize in response to various crises scenarios, including external threats.

Author: Gregory Asmolov, PhD (King’s College London)

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The Rise of Disconnective Propaganda- Protecting Social Resilience as a Pillar of European.

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