Conclusion

Summary

Far from an isolated political and cultural moment, foreign election interference appears to be a new feature of statecraft. Its ubiquity might lead some to a state of resignation – to accept it as an established element of international relations and not something that international law can regulate or extinguish. This would be a mistake. There are many international behaviors that are inevitable: war is one example. But the ubiquity of the phenomenon is not a good reason to forgo regulation. International law should recognize the distinctive harm of election interference, just as it recognizes the distinctive harm of armed conflict and seeks to reduce the number and the intensity of military conflicts. So too with election interference. International law (and domestic law) should seek to reduce the number of interferences and mitigate their impact.