I think that there’s an unfortunately timed “perfect storm” that is currently enabling the Russians to achieve their goals. As with all perfect storms, it contains several elements that may not have been connected at the beginning, but combined together to create something greater than their parts.
1. The US’s perfect storm: In the US, in the last few decades, we’ve witnessed an increase in partisanship and a growing divide between parties. We’ve discussed this several times on this board, so I’ll just do a brief summary. I think it really started during the Civil Rights Era. Prior to that period, there were conservatives and liberals in each party. But post-Civil Rights, Republicans decided to make a play for conservative southerners, who tend to be more religious and socially conservative versus the moderate and even liberal republicans of the past who were socially liberal although economically conservative. This reshaped the republican party, as fully embracing (eventually, once the dixiecrats fled the party) civil rights reshaped the democratic party. Now conservatives are republicans, and liberals are democrats. No mixing. In addition, political parties began to lose some of their power to bribe and coerce members into supporting legislation. In addition, more money was obtainable outside the party than from the party. Then, within the last few years, computerized gerrymandering delivered the fatal blow in ensuring the conservatives or liberals only had to appeal to their base. They no longer had to make attempts to reach beyond their base to ensure election. And, of course, 24/7 cable news balkanized our news sources.
2. The Global perfect storm: Due to both wars and global catastrophes (see: global warming and how the US military always warned it would be destabilizing
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca ... bd87e45679 ) Increased immigration has created tensions between conservatives and liberals in all countries (although the exact parameters of liberal versus conservative differs in different countries, obviously). Terrorism, which has always been with us, has increased in Western targets, while decreasing world-wide. (
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/upsh ... ml?mcubz=1) But the increase in Western targets has ensured that terrorism is now an obsessive focus in the west.
3. Social Media: the development of new platforms of interactions, and the uncertainty of governments in how to or it to regulate these platforms, has provided a dramatically increased the ability to reach wide audiences.
I think these three factors have allowed Russia to more fully enact and reach their goals.
And I think liberal democracy may be in trouble world-wide, if we don’t figure this out quickly.