Executive Summary: Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014 and, more recently, its equally illegal absorption of Ukraine’s Donbas oblast illustrates the lack of respect Moscow has for Ukraine as a separate state. Kremlin officials are openly talking about changing all Ukraine’s current borders,... MORE

Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has established a framework of authority and values that fosters voluntary compliance from subordinate states, as exemplified by the Solomon Islands’ recent diplomatic alignment with Beijing, abandoning recognition of Taiwan in favor of the PRC. The PRC... MORE

Executive Summary: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó recently visited Belarus to discuss expanding trade amid stringent EU sanctions, cooperating more closely on nuclear energy, and maintaining open lines of communication. Budapest is the only EU capital that recognizes the post-2020 political status quo in Minsk... MORE

Executive Summary: Budapest has long been concerned about the status and treatment of ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring countries and, most recently, has been more outspoken in defense of those Hungarians living in Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has elevated that defense to the... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian-cultivated circles overlap with People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence networks. These intersections include politicians on both extremes of Europe’s political spectrum, and across countries which include Belgium, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. “Daniel Woo,” a PRC state security officer, is a... MORE

Executive Summary: The Hungarian National Assembly passed a controversial law establishing the “Sovereignty Protection Authority” (SZVH) to combat alleged foreign interference in the country’s political processes. The Sovereignty Protection Law itself bears similarities to Russian law in targeting alleged foreign agents, limiting opposition parties’ ability... MORE

On October 15, after eight years in power, the Law and Justice (PiS) government in Poland lost its absolute parliamentary majority. While PiS technically won a plurality of the vote, it was unable to form a coalition government. On December 11, the Sejm (lower house... MORE

On December 4, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a letter to European Council President Charles Michel urging him to take the opening of EU accession talks with Ukraine off the forum’s agenda. Orbán argued that “the obvious lack of consensus [on whether to open... MORE

On October 26 and 27, the international conference, “Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World,” was held in Minsk. The event took place under the auspices of Belarus’s current chairmanship of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). About 300 representatives from 30 countries... MORE

Bulgaria has finally taken decisive measures to cease its dependence on Russian energy and undercut Moscow’s positions in the Balkan and Central European energy markets. On September 28, the Bulgarian National Assembly voted to introduce a new excise tax on the import and transit of... MORE