Compiled by Athena Smith.
Articles
Hitler’s ‘Flood the Zone’ Strategy
Benjamin Carter Hett reviewed Timothy Ryback’s book “53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy,” describing it as a readable account of Hitler’s shockingly fast transformation from newly sworn-in chancellor to dictator. Hett noted Ryback’s argument that 1930s Germany offers parallels to democratic erosion in the United States today and that Hitler seized power by following a formulaic plan to dismantle German democracy.
What followed Hitler’s appointment as chancellor was a kind of “flood the zone” strategy—an early election call, a blizzard of executive orders curtailing press freedom and giving Hitler’s paramilitaries police powers, a crescendo of violence, then the shock of the Reichstag fire followed by thousands of arrests. The election of March 5 produced somewhat underwhelming results for the Nazis—contrary to their own expectations, they fell short of a majority—but at the end of the month they got their Enabling Act anyway.
Fraudfare: Weaponized Fraud Under International Law
Tymur Mykhailov detailed the growth of patriotic, Ukraine-based scam centers that target Russian citizens with fraudulent calls. Mykahilov explored whether “fraudfare”—scam campaigns as part of war—can be justified under international law, the extent to which it can be attributed to Ukraine, and the due diligence obligations Ukraine owes Russia. He concluded that there is limited justification for these scams, as they target civilians and do not qualify as cyberattacks.
While the factual details of fraudfare as criminal activity are not yet clear, cyber fraud is both legally and morally wrong, and Ukraine remains obligated to prevent, investigate, and prosecute it. However, even if this selective targeting existed, as the aggressor state, Russia is unlikely to succeed in pursuing an international legal remedy based on harm flowing from the war it initiated: Under the principle
ex injuria jus non oritur, together with its treaty-based and customary law analogues, a state should not be permitted to derive a legal advantage from its own wrongful conduct.
Chinese AI Can Learn to Love the West
In the latest edition of the* Seriously Risky Business *cybersecurity newsletter, Tom Uren explained how new research suggests that pro-Chinese Communist Party bias can be removed from Chinese open-weight artificial intelligence (AI) models, how AI tools continue to discover long-standing PHP software, and more.
From a narrow technical perspective, Hirundo’s research potentially points out a neat solution for American companies that want to use Chinese open-weight models: Test, assess, reeducate. If empirical testing shows that a model’s pro-CCP bias is a problem, adjust it to make the models love the West! Off to the pro-democracy reeducation camp for you, comrade!
Podcasts
Lawfare Daily: Sander Tordoir on Europe's Strategic Choices:Peter E. Harrell sat down with Sander Tordoir to discuss the recent deal between the European Union and China involving quotas on hybrid cars, an apparent pause in supply chain warfare, the new trade instruments the E.U. is developing, and more.
Videos and Webinars
Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, October 30: Benjamin Wittes sat down with Molly Roberts, Roger Parloff, and Eric Columbus to discuss recent developments in litigation against the Trump administration, including former FBI Director James Comey being charged for a third time, a judge ruling that Maureen Comey was unlawfully fired as an assistant U.S. attorney, updates in the Kennedy Center litigation, and more.
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