oiip

Policy Brief May 2024
Published in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Krems – UWK by Johannes Späth

Since the Supreme Court of the United States effectively abolished campaign finance laws, money has flooded into the electoral system at unprecedented levels, prompting politicians to recalibrate their positions to court the necessary funds. Research indicates that as a result, the representative process has been distorted, with the U.S. political apparatus becoming more responsive to wealth than to the collective will of the electorate. Studies also show that this development has been accompanied by the rise of “dark money,” which is legally unaccounted for and often originates from undisclosed sources.

Building on these findings, this policy analysis argues that the influx of untraceable funds allows adversarial governments to exert significant influence with minimal oversight, putting the United States at grave geopolitical risk. It is imperative to address these malign finance practices as a serious threat to U.S. sovereignty by reinstating stricter campaign finance and anti-corruption laws to ensure the protection of democratic integrity and national security.

To read more, download the Policy Brief HERE.

Photo: Giorgio Trovato auf Unsplash