Foreign Disinformation and the (toxic) Politicization of European Governance: the Case of the Russian speaking minority in Germany

The paper theorizes foreign disinformation as a driver of toxic politicization of European governance. Bridging research on EU politicization and external interference, it conceptualizes disinformation by authoritarian states as a strategic intervention that reshapes politicization along three dimensions: (1) increasing the salience of divisive EU governance issues; (2) transforming legitimate contestation into affective, identity-based polarization; and (3) expanding the actor constellation by empowering radical intermediaries and proxy organizations. «Toxic politicization» denotes a qualitative shift whereby these dynamics erode trust in democratic institutions, delegitimize EU governance, and deepen societal fragmentation. Adopting a hybrid perspective that links structural intent (who coordinates and amplifies messages) to narrative content (what is said and how), the paper shows how foreign campaigns exploit existing cleavages and are co-produced with domestic actors. This framework is illustrated through the case of Russian information and disinformation targeting the Russian-speaking minority in Germany as a site of externally induced toxic politicization of European governance.