Director of the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy and former White House and State Department official, Laura Rosenberger views democracy from a national security perspective. In this interview, she urges the United States to pay close attention to threats from without and within. In addition to focusing on borders, security means focusing on systems, she claims. Otherwise, the United States leaves itself vulnerable to authoritarian regimes and illiberal forces who could seek to undermine democracy in order to increase their relative power. Americans' first line of defense is to not let external interference divide them, an important message heading into a year of presidential campaigning.