Al-Shabaab Faces Leadership Battle as Speculation Over Emir’s Health Mounts
Kerch Strait Now a Flashpoint for Russian and Ukrainian Forces
Concern Mounts in Beijing over Xi’s Aggressive Tactics
Kazakhstan’s Neutrality Irks Russia and Strains Bilateral Ties
Recent developments in Armenia, where a former president–turned–prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, hastily stepped down in the face of vigorous street protests on April 23, underscored the potential vulnerability of Russia’s regional alliances. The Eurasian Economic... MORE
Factors Contributing to Azerbaijan’s Growing Domestic Military Industry
Azerbaijan’s Defense Industry (DI) Minister Yaver Jamalov said, on April 27, that 89 percent of domestic DI output during the first quarter of 2018 was made up of special-purpose defense products, some of which are... MORE
Kudrin’s Oblique ‘Return’: A Sign of the Kremlin’s Retreat From Liberal Reforms
Following Vladimir Putin’s reelection to a fourth term as president, Russian authorities officially announced the final composition of the “new” government last Friday, May 18. And several days earlier, former finance minister (2000–2011) Alexei Kudrin... MORE
Islamic State After Syria: A Dangerous New Stronghold in the Sinai
Having once held domain over some eight million people and controlled territory reaching nearly to Baghdad, Islamic State (IS) has undergone a monumental decline. Where the group was once in control of massive swathes of... MORE
Returning IS Fighters in the Balkans: Beyond the Immediate Security Threat
Over the years, the nations of the Western Balkans have seen about 1,000 of their citizens join al-Qaeda’s Syria wing, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra), and move on to join so-called Islamic... MORE
Mayoral Campaigns in Moldova’s Two Largest Cities: A Preview of Next Parliamentary Election
This Sunday, May 20, Moldova will hold early mayoral elections in the capital city of Chisinau, the second-largest city of Balti, and five other small localities. The mayoral seats in the two largest cities became... MORE
Kremlin’s Increasing Reliance on Cossacks Reflects Weaknesses of Russian State
Few recent events have alarmed Russian society as much as the on May 5 Cossack whip (nagaika) attacks in Moscow on street demonstrators who had been organized by opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The incident had... MORE
Russia’s Electronic Warfare Capability: Training and Procurement
Electronic Warfare (Radioelektronnaya Borba—EW) capability is playing an increasingly prominent role in Russia’s efforts to adopt and integrate Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capacity in order to offer effective means to... MORE