Etienne Soula

Research Analyst, Alliance for Securing Democracy
Brussels Office
Democracy
Staff,
GMF Expert
English
French
German
My Areas of Expertise:
Authoritarian Interference Disinformation Emerging Technologies
China

Etienne Soula is a Brussels-based research analyst with the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) at GMF. His research focuses on Chinese information manipulation, economic coercion, and use of technology exports to weaken democracies and to disseminate globally its model of techno-authoritarianism. He maintains ASD’s authoritarian interference tracker that covers more than 600 incidents of Russian and Chinese political and economic interference in Europe and North America. He also monitors and reports on Chinese diplomatic and state-media messaging. 

Soula previously worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Hudson Institute, and NATO. He holds a dual master’s degree in international affairs from American University and the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and a law degree from the University of Nottingham.

Media Mentions

by
Etienne Soula
“ What's important is that you have a large group of countries, not only Western countries, but also developing countries, Etienne Soula, a research analyst at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told VOA. The security expert also pointed out that participating in the conference is not "automatically supporting Ukraine or the Western position," "but I think it is very clear that the countries that choose not to participate are certainly sending a signal that is close to the Russian narrative." ”
Translated from Chinese (Mandarin)
VOA Chinese
by
Etienne Soula
“ Beijing will likely try to help Russia concede as little as possible while convincing the Ukrainians and their Western supporters to bury the hatchet. ”
CNBC
by
Etienne Soula
“ China is careful not to interfere with other countries’ internal affairs or internal politics, so to have them weigh in so openly to encourage voters to riot — it’s outside the ordinary. ”
New York Times
by
Etienne Soula
“ There has definitely been a pro-Russian convergence, and China has been repeating pro-Russian talking points since the beginning of the war while also downplaying Russian war crimes and giving prominence to Russian voices. ”
RFE/RL
by
Etienne Soula
“ It appears that the significance of the incident took the Chinese authorities by surprise. As late as [February 3], when foreign media questions made it apparent that the story was blowing up, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was giving curt and dismissive answers instead of trying to get ahead of the story. ”
RFE
by
Etienne Soula
“ It appears that the significance of the incident took the Chinese authorities by surprise. As late as Friday, when foreign media questions made it apparent that the story was blowing up, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was giving curt and dismissive answers instead of trying to get ahead of the story. ”
Washington Post
by
Etienne Soula
“ The new leadership at the head of [China's] MFA is dialing down, but not entirely abandoning, the wolf warrior rhetoric. ”
Translated from Chinese (Mandarin)
Voice of America
by
Etienne Soula
“ Given Chinese authorities' past history of harassing political opponents outside of China, the information available to this agent could negatively impact the safety and well-being of political activists around the world. ”
Translated from Chinese (Mandarin)
VOA Chinese
by
Etienne Soula
“ Compared with the last week of July, mentions of Taiwan in Chinese diplomats and state media’s tweets were up more than 500% and mentions of the PLA were up more than 200% in the first week of August. ”
Politico
by
Etienne Soula
“ I think people underestimate how much China has supported Russia and its messaging. It's naive to think of China as a neutral mediator in this crisis. ”
Translated from Chinese (Mandarin)
VOA Chinese

Featured Work