This past week, my course, European Game of Politics: Crisis and Survival, traveled to Warsaw, Poland for a study tour. This trip featured a mix of academic activities, cultural activities and social/teambuilding activities. This included visits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Center for Eastern Studies, the Polish Institute for International Affairs (PISM) and meetings with various actors in the EU ecosystem. We also took a pierogi-making class, did an escape room, played a few games of Airsoft (a variation of paint-ball) and took a day trip to Gdansk.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we discussed the issue of Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). Poland is principally concerned with FIMI perpetrated by Russian actors, though FIMI is a concern for many states across the international stage and perpetrated by a variety of actors. One common form of FIMI occurs when a foreign agent, acting on behalf of a state, manipulates young people into committing acts of vandalism and violence. In Poland, this has come in the form of arson, with shopping malls being a common target.
