Within the timeframe, leading to the national parliament election (September 30), which may ultimately “change its pro-european, pro-transatlantic, and overall democratic course”, and shortly after, the activities of this project intend to contribute to the nation-wide debate, focused on avoiding the formation of an illiberal and undemocratic government. 

Protection of the freedom and independence of the media and journalists is one of the priority issues of the Slovak foreign policy and European policy. Its importance underlines the recent developments: the independence and viability of the quality media is threatened not only in autocratic and hybrid regimes, but also in liberal democracies. While the nature and origin of the threats vary, as reports by independent organisations such as Reporters Without Borders show, the external environment for the media and journalists is deteriorating.

Studies show that Slovakia has a much larger number of anti-Western actors communicating about the country's defence compared to other CEE countries (NATO StratCom COE, 2022). Moreover, the state remains more vulnerable to influence and pro-Russian propaganda, which is reflected in the long-term positive perception of Russia among Slovaks (Globsec Trends, 2022). Harmful content has been systematically infiltrating the Slovak information space for years, which is why this project primarily aims to be an important source of communication outputs, to act as a credible source for the general public and to advocate for the country's pro-European and pro-Atlantic orientation within the stakeholder network.

On the road from Madrid to Vilnius, NATO has been facing not only the changing world and security environment, but also its overall transformation, triggered by the most dangerous moment for Europe since World War II, Russian aggression in Ukraine. The “War in Ukraine and NATO’s Transformation” project aims to closely follow this unprecedented transformation, and through online communication and analytical activities directly contributing to the framework of NATO’s current agenda and number of its communication priorities.

Prompted by revelations from a thorough seven-year investigation into an ammunition depot explosion in Vrbětice, a connection to Russian operatives and the Skripal poisoning case in the UK was uncovered. In response, the Czech and Slovak information spaces encountered orchestrated efforts to sow confusion and erode trust in the official investigation. This collaborative endeavor highlighted the interplay between the Czech and Slovak pro-Kremlin disinformation spheres.