Foreign agent
A foreign agent is any person or entity actively carrying out the interests of a foreign country while located in another host country, generally outside the protections offered to those working in their official capacity for a diplomatic mission.
Foreign agents may be citizens of the host country. In contemporary English, the term has a generally pejorative connotation. A covert foreign agent, also known as a secret agent of a foreign government, may in some countries be presumed to be engaging in espionage.
Legality
Some countries have formal procedures to legalize the activities of foreign agents acting overtly. Laws covering foreign agents vary widely from country to country, and selective enforcement may prevail within countries, based on perceived national interest.
United States
In the United States, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) created a wide-ranging and detailed definition of "foreign agent."[1] The FARA is sometimes claimed to be used to target countries out of favor with an administration.[2] In 2021, the American Bar Association (ABA) called for a reform of FARA, including "renam[ing] FARA and otherwise replacing] the term “agent of a foreign principal” with a term that elicits less stigma and causes less confusion."[3]
Russia
Under the 2012 Russian foreign agent law, non-governmental organizations have to designate themselves "foreign agents" in all external communication if they engage in "political activity" and receive any foreign funding.[4]
References
- U.S. Code Title 22 Chapter 11 Subchapter II § 611: Definitions
- James Shanahan, Propaganda without propagandists?: six case studies in U.S. propaganda, Hampton Press, 2001, p 108: "The DOJ's search for those who fail to disclose accurately their relationship with foreign groups and enforcement of FARA is selective."
- Laufman, David H.; Sanderson, Matthew T. (July 16, 2021). "FARA: Issues and Recommendations for Reform". Politico. p. 6.
- Russia: Government against Rights Groups Human Rights Watch 2015