Xi’s Grip Loosens Amid Trade War Policy Paralysis
Domestic Criticism May Signal Shrunken Belt and Road Ambitions
Clashes Between Islamic State and AQAP Emblematic of Broader Competition
Growing Network of IS-K in Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province
With the fall of Mosul in July 2014, the Islamic State (IS) started to spread its tentacles, luring in Islamist terrorist groups all over the world. This includes many groups previously aligned with al-Qaeda. The... MORE
How Assad’s Strategies Facilitated the Suweida Massacre
At daybreak on July 25, Islamic State (IS) fighters launched a brutal attack against the predominantly Druze city of Suweida. The attackers went door to door, massacring helpless victims. They quickly and silently entered homes... MORE
De-Sovereignization: Testing a Conflict-Resolution Model at Moldova’s Expense in Transnistria (Part One)
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has functioned under Russia-friendly chairmanships in the last three years: Germany (2016), Austria (2017) and Italy (2018). The heavyweight German chairmanship, under then–minister of foreign affairs... MORE
Russia More Dependent on Raw Materials Exports Now Than in 2008
Perhaps no failure of Vladimir Putin’s casts a darker shadow on Russia’s future than the decisions he has made that increased Russian dependence on the export of raw materials. This economic reliance is today higher... MORE
Putin’s Ideology Being Established in the Armed Forces
The existence of special political indoctrination structures in the armed forces is an indispensable element of many authoritarian systems, something the armies of democratic states almost never possess. On July 30, the apparatus for indoctrinating... MORE
Russia’s Long-Term Interests Place Turkey Higher Than Syria
After protracted negotiations, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, hammered out a compromise, on September 17, in Sochi, to reinforce a fragile ceasefire in the so-called “deconfliction zone” in the... MORE
New Controversial Publications About Belarus
Three important books on Belarus released in the past two years shed new light on the complex debates over Belarusian identity. First, Alexander Nosovich, a political scientist with Belarusian roots but based in Kaliningrad, Russia,... MORE
‘Preventive Democracy’ Fails in Russia as Anger Over Pension Reform Grows
Russia held local gubernatorial elections in 26 regions across the country, on September 9. And the results were unprecedented when compared to the usual political outcomes of recent years (TASS, Meduza, September 10). In four... MORE