Latest Articles about Economics

Russian Influence Fades in the Multi-Aligned South Caucasus
In a recent interview on September 13, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia can no longer rely on Moscow as a guarantor of its security (Asbarez.com, September 13). This comes against the backdrop of renewed tensions in the South Caucasus, as recent events... MORE

Iran Losing Out to Turkey in Central Asia, Frustrating Tehran
Iran has traditionally faced an uphill battle in its struggle with Turkey for influence in Central Asia. But for most of the past three decades, Tehran has successfully exploited two factors in this fight. On the one hand, the Islamic Republic has relied on its... MORE

Russia’s Drone Industry Hits Serious Turbulence
Russia’s war against Ukraine has challenged its military’s approach to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the Russian industrial base that supports the development and production of UAVs. According to open-source intelligence, Russia lost about 300 reconnaissance and combat drones as confirmed by photo or video... MORE

Belarus’s International Standing Improves as Domestic Culture Wars Heat Up
The threat of complete closure of the borders between Belarus and certain European Union member states is diminishing (see EDM, September 7). On September 7, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda declared that the issue is losing relevance as the situation with the Wagner mercenaries on Belarusian... MORE

Iran Hopes to Play Spoiler With Planned EU-India Corridor
On September 9, at the G20 summit in New Delhi, United States President Joe Biden signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India and a number of Middle Eastern countries and European Union member states. The agreement aims to create a new trade corridor linking... MORE

Putin-Erdogan Meeting Shows Turkey Unfit to Mediate Between Russia and Ukraine (Part Two)
*Read Part One. The Kremlin offered Turkey several major, highly attractive business projects at the bilateral summit in Sochi on September 4. These would further increase Turkey’s reliance on Russia in key economic sectors and on Russian-generated revenues (see Part One). By the same token, it... MORE

Russia’s Diminished Global Status Exposed in India
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s absence at the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 was not all that surprising and seemed hardly registered by any of the two dozen world leaders who attended. Putin also missed the previous summit in Bali, Indonesia,... MORE

Political Drivers of China’s Private Sector Demise
Beijing has recently introduced a blitzkrieg of regulatory measures targeting industries ranging from video games and financial technology to food delivery and education (Tuzhixi, July 27, 2021). The introduction of these regulatory measures has had profound implications on China’s economic trajectory. China’s tech giants have... MORE

The Chinese Debate on Economic Reform
A steady drumbeat of ominous data and troubling commentary on the state of China’s economy has punctuated the summer months. Reports from the commentariat in the anglosphere have provided diagnostic analysis and detailed potential policy solutions that the Chinese government might pursue. However, China’s central decision... MORE

Russia Eyes Civilian Nuclear Markets in Africa
On July 27 and 28, during the Russia–Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russian officials signed a number of intergovernmental memorandums and agreements regarding possible future cooperation in nuclear energy with Burundi (Rosatom.ru, July 27), Zimbabwe (Rosatom.ru, July 27) and Ethiopia (Rosatom.ru, July 28). Moreover, Russian... MORE