The summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12 will likely not produce any sensational joint decisions; it is set, nevertheless, to signify a major step in reconfiguring and reinforcing the European security system. Russia’s aggression against... MORE

Introduction On February 27, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China released its Digital China Plan (数字中国建设整体布局规划), outlining China’s latest strategy for its “digital economy” (The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, February 27). The Plan highlights the PRC’s ambitions for... MORE

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power, Moscow has routinely sought to redirect trade through countries in the post-Soviet space to help its allies and weaken its opponents with the goal of preventing any of the former union republics from becoming regional competitors to... MORE

*Read Part One. The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) on June 6, caused by the Russian occupation forces, proved to be a catastrophic event with wide-ranging environmental and economic consequences for Ukraine and the broader Black Sea region. Recent satellite images confirm... MORE

The weekend mutiny of the Wagner Group, pathetic as it may look in hindsight, is certain to affect Russia’s ability to sustain its aggression against Ukraine and to repel the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive. But it will also resonate in a much wider sense. One of... MORE

Introduction In recent months, the (re)emergence of the “Rural Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade” (农村综合行政执法大队) has generated controversy in China. On social media, netizens have nicknamed this brigade as nongguan (农管, “rural managers”), echoing the infamous and widely despised urban enforcers of rules and regulations known... MORE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Export controls played a critical role in helping the West to prevail over the Soviet Union and its allies in the Cold War. The United States now faces a new national security challenge in the People’s Republic of China. After World War II,... MORE

In April 2023, the first trilateral political consultation between the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, India and Armenia was held in Yerevan (Shargh Daily, April 21). The three countries focused primarily on “economic issues and regional communication channels,” and “the sides agreed to continue consultations... MORE

On May 25, the Council of the European Union ultimately renewed the temporary agreement for the bloc’s trade liberalization with Ukraine for another year (Consilium.europa.eu, May 25). The decision, which came into force on June 6, was not, however, easy to achieve as the EU’s... MORE

On June 6, a humanitarian and ecological disaster was triggered when the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in Ukraine was destroyed—most likely the work of  Russian forces in the area (New Voice of Ukraine, June 6). Ukrainian hydropower operator Ukrhydroenergo reported that, as of June 8,... MORE