The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing last Friday (February 4) may be remembered not only for its spectacular fireworks and extra-tight pandemic measures but also as a turning point in the brewing crisis on the border of Ukraine—a crisis the... MORE

On October 8, 2021, an Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) operative detonated a suicide bomb inside of Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, reportedly killing more than 50 people and wounding over 100 others (The Express Tribune, October 8, 2021). The attack targeted Shia... MORE

Russia has promoted the Northern Sea Route with the expectation that China will be a major user. And it is assertively advocating for the development of natural resources, such as natural gas in the Arctic, with the hope that China will be a major customer.... MORE

When the 2022 Winter Olympics open in Beijing on February 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a guest of honor. Russia remains technically banned from Olympic participation due to doping violations, but as with the 2021 (2020) Tokyo games, Russian athletes will compete as... MORE

Introduction After Lithuania decided to open a Taiwanese Representative Office in July 2021, China responded with an all-out diplomatic and economic pressure campaign against the Baltic nation of 2.8 million people. The Chinese government expelled the Lithuanian ambassador, recalled its own ambassador from Vilnius in... MORE

 Introduction In early January, several hours of heavy rain exposed poor infrastructure and exaggerated claims of massive development in Gwadar. The largely deserted port city sits on the Iranian border in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, which is wracked by poverty, militancy, and violence. Despite its... MORE

Introduction In mid-November, two People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 071 Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock ships traveled through the waters between Taiwan and Yonaguni, Japan, temporarily lingering off Hualien, Taiwan. Japanese media speculated that the PLAN ships not only took part in regular “joint combat... MORE

Factional rivalry and internecine bickering within the 95 million-strong Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has become so apparent that usually circumspect propaganda outlets are no longer shy about airing dirty laundry in public. An article in the December 2021 issue of the official China Discipline and... MORE

Introduction This article is the first in a two-part series on the evolution of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) enlisted force. Part one provides background and examines key issues in the PLA’s conscription and recruitment of enlisted personnel. Part two overviews the role of the... MORE

Introduction It has been 71 years since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the local government of Tibet signed a 17-point agreement on “the peaceful liberation of Tibet” (Central Tibetan Administration, May 23, 2019). Nevertheless, the region remains a major source of insecurity and... MORE