ABSTRACT
Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US election – and related efforts to influence elections and referendums in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and elsewhere – has set off alarm bells about the rise of a new form of great-power competition and Russia’s growing efforts to disrupt democratic societies. Gradually over the last two centuries, and especially since 1945, the world community has come to accept an international legal prohibition on outright territorial aggression. Controlling this burgeoning mode of aggression by creating a new norm of virtual territorial integrity thus stands as one of the most important priorities in sustaining a shared international order. Scholars have worried for years about a growing risk to the territorial-sovereignty norm from great-power rivalry and conflict, partly fuelled by a more multipolar international system, which could produce fresh bouts of military adventurism.
