On August 19, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on applying the “Agrarian Insurance Law” and establishing the “Agrarian Insurance Fund”—key steps designed to help diversify the South Caucasus country’s economy (Azertag, August 19). In recent years, diversification of the economy has become a... MORE

Residents of six major cities in Kazakhstan took to the streets last week (September 3) to protest their government’s decision allowing China to open 55 factories in their country, a move the protesters say will deepen Kazakhstan’s dependence on its large eastern neighbor and lead... MORE

Despite various hints and declarations of progress in Moscow’s dialogue with the new Ukrainian government, Russia has nonetheless maintained its aggressive behavior. The shelling of Donbas persists, and the Ukrainian General Staff reports almost daily on new casualties—wounded or killed. Simultaneously, the Kremlin’s information operations... MORE

Introduction: “Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior” Related to the Protest Movement in Hong Kong On August 19, the microblogging platform Twitter announced the suspension of 936 accounts originating in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which the company identified as part of an “information operation focused on... MORE

Introduction: China’s Historic Stance on Unification with Taiwan The position taken by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) regarding Taiwan’s status is clear, and enshrined in the preamble of the country’s constitution: “Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People’s... MORE

Introduction  The repression of Xinjiang's Uighur population by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to horrify world opinion. Along with interning an estimated one million people in a network of re-education camps, the Chinese state has built extensive systems of daily... MORE

The month of August was unusually busy for Kyrgyzstan. In particular, the country’s domestic political scene devolved into a full-blown political crisis on August 8, with the arrest of former president Almazbek Atambayev at his family compound, in the northern village of Koy Tash. The... MORE

The Caspian Sea littoral countries are not the only entities involved in the competition over the use of that body of water and its links to the broader world: federal subjects of the Russian Federation are seeking to be players as well. Notably, Astrakhan region... MORE

The end of summer 2019 found Russian President Vladimir Putin busy with high international politics. He is no longer riding with aging bikers in Crimea or making pilgrimage to the Valaammonastery together with Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Instead, he traveled to France and Finland as... MORE

Introduction: The CCP Confronts “Turmoil” in Hong Kong A central question surrounding the Hong Kong protests is whether People’s Republic of China (PRC) President and Commander-in-Chief Xi Jinping will deploy the local People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison to quell the “turmoil” in the Special Administration... MORE