How Foreign Influence Works in Washington

Why transparency matters for national security

The United States is wealthy, powerful, and a democracy. That means there are many avenues for foreign countries vying to influence its politics and policy. Though many forms of foreign lobbying are legal and totally above-board, those efforts are largely misunderstood and all too understudied. But understanding the geopolitics of influence can help us understand how Washington really works.

In this episode, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Jonathan Guyer is joined by Nick Cleveland-Stout, a research associate at the Quincy Institute, to discuss all things transparency. Nick explains how he digs through documents to discover the foreign influence campaigns of countries like Israel and Qatar — and why Americans should care.

Nick Cleveland-Stout is a research associate in the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He was previously a Fulbright fellow at the Federal University of Santa Catarina researching US-Brazil relations. His research focuses on foreign influence and think tank transparency. He writes for Responsible Statecraft, The Intercept, and The Nation, among others.

Check out Nick’s reporting: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/author/ncstout/

Find Nick on X: https://x.com/nick_clevelands

Check out Kenneth P. Vogel’s book, Devils’ Advocates: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/devils-advocates-kenneth-p-vogel

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