Introduction Commonly held economic theory generally suggests that foreign aid benefits the recipient. But so far, China’s bilateral relations with Nepal—which are based upon generous pledges of foreign direct investment (FDI)—have created a power imbalance. China’s outsized influence in Nepal was most recently highlighted by... MORE

Scandinavian Countries Contend with Lingering Influence of Islamic State Jacob Zenn In recent weeks, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have experienced incidents involving Islamic State (IS) members and supporters operating on their territories. On March 8, for example, Sweden prosecuted a 31-year-old woman who had traveled... MORE

(Editor's note: This article was updated on March 15.) Introduction President Xi Jinping has boosted China’s ability to defy foreign threats by promoting technological self-sufficiency and tightening freedoms previously granted to Hong Kong. Projections of major domestic and diplomatic initiatives up to the year 2035... MORE

Introduction On January 1, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) put into effect new revisions to its National Defense Law (henceforth, “Law”) (中华人民共和国国防法 zhonghua renmin gonghe guo guofang fa) (Xinhua, December 26, 2020; South China Morning Post, January 3).[1] This is the first update since... MORE

Introduction Since 2016, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policies in Xinjiang have not only shaken the lives of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other groups inside and outside the region, but also heralded a new era in the CCP’s domestic governance and power projection abroad (China Brief, December... MORE

Introduction In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the global economy, pessimistic analyses of the Belt and Road Initiative culminated with the December 7 publication by Boston University of a dataset covering overseas lending by two of China’s main policy banks, which showed... MORE

Introduction Relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and the Vatican have begun to shift and bear significant implications for the region as well as for the role of the United States in the Indo-Pacific. Since the Republic of China (ROC) government relocated... MORE

Given the Vladimir Putin regime’s past reliance on oil exports, it is perhaps no surprise that Moscow has been casting about for some other raw material it can sell abroad now that hydrocarbon prices have fallen and Russian government revenues along with them. But its... MORE

The latest People’s Republic of China–Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC) summit took place online, on February 9, after a one-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time, the high-level meeting was hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, aimed at providing the... MORE

Indonesian Jemaah Islamiya Founder Abubakar Baasyir’s Quiet Release From Prison  Jacob Zenn In 2019, the Indonesian government decided it would release Jemaah Islamiya founder Abubakar Baasyir from prison earlier than initially scheduled. He had been tried in 2011 and sentenced to 15 years in prison... MORE