FOREIGN INFLUENCE TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE

REPORT

REPORT

REPORT

​

A Washington Echo Chamber for a New Cold War

by Cassandra Stimpson and Holly Zhang

To walk that tightrope (along with the defense contractors that will benefit financially from the further militarization of the region), Japan spends heavily to influence thinking in Washington. Recent reports from the Center for International Policy’s Foreign Influence Initiative (FITI), where the authors of this piece work, reveal just how countries like Japan and giant arms firms like Lockheed Martin and Boeing functionally purchase an inside track on a think-tank market that’s hard at work creating future foreign-policy options for this country’s elite.

​

Transition 2020: Biden's defense landing team under fire for lack of progressives

William Hartung and Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative quoted

"Most of the biggest challenges we face — from Covid to climate change to racial and economic inequality — are not military in nature, suggesting that a substantial shift from high levels of Pentagon spending to other security priorities writ large is in order," said William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the left-leaning Center for International Policy.

But like most of the others on the team, they come from think tanks or consulting firms heavily financed by leading defense companies, including CSIS, New America and the Center for a New American Security.

Those think tanks, which are largely considered center-left, are among the top 10 recipients of defense industry donations, according to a study published last month by the Center for International Policy.

​

Congress Moves to Block UAE Weapons

"Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative" mentioned

The Center for International Policy’s Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative is out with a new report today unwinding Japan's “massive influence operation in the U.S.” and Tokyo’s heavy emphasis on securing advanced American weapons. The report tracks 51 different firms registered as foreign agents that were paid $32 million in 2019 by the Japanese government.

​

Canada’s Laws About Foreign Agents Haven’t Caught Up to the Modern World

Ben Freeman quoted

The U.S. law, first created in 1938 out of a fear of Nazi propaganda, is too broad, Mr. Freeman said. It requires registration for anyone doing non-commercial activities, notably political activities, at the request of a “foreign principal,” which can even be an individual, Mr. Freeman said. And he argued the U.S. needs more transparency, such as disclosure of foreign donations to think tanks.