Disinformation, History, and Democratic Resilience: Lessons from Finland and the Baltic States.

Disinformation, History, and Democratic Resilience: Lessons from Finland and the Baltic States.

Ilie Florin CEUȘAN[1], Simion COSTEA[2]

Abstract

This article comparatively analyses how Finland and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have developed resilient responses to Russian disinformation by institutionalising historical experience within strategic, institutional, and societal frameworks. Unlike states that began to address disinformation largely in a reactive manner after 2014 or 2016, these four cases integrated information threats at an earlier stage into national security strategies, intelligence practices, media policies, civic education, and Euro-Atlantic cooperation. Employing a qualitative comparative approach, the article identifies eight core dimensions of information resilience and illustrates them through concrete institutional and societal examples. The conclusions highlight the decisive role of transparency, inter-institutional coordination, and sustained civil society involvement in countering external information manipulation.

Keywords: critical history; memory and power; Russian disinformation; information resilience; the Baltic States; Finland; societal security; media literacy; strategic communication.