Executive Summary: Georgia faces a civilizational dilemma between democratic and non-democratic worlds specifically exemplified with the developments surrounding the recent adoption of the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence.” Georgian Dream does not itself want to officially end Georgia’s European course and instead seeks to... MORE

Executive Summary: Recent behavior by General Secretary Xi Jinping suggests a contradiction in his approach to leadership. While he has sacked protégés, suggesting a reckoning with past personnel decisions, he continues to prioritize personal connections and loyalty over competence. This centralization of power is exemplified... MORE

Executive Summary: Li Qiang’s government work report offered no significant incentives to help the nation’s three sectors most in need of government support. Economic targets were practically identical to those for 2023 but will be harder to achieve. Xi amassed more power through sidelining Li... MORE

Executive Summary: The Russian mercenary industry has transformed since Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 with private military companies (PMCs) and other paramilitary formations taking on a more prominent role in Russia’s military operations. PMCs and other mercenary groups have become key players in... MORE

Executive Summary Putin has tried to convey the “success” of his war by maintaining the façade that there are no serious problems on the home front and that the Russian people remain resolute in their support of the Kremlin leader. Moscow’s messaging has become less... MORE

The last quarter of 2022 saw an outburst of Chinese people power. Citizens in as many as 28 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Chongqing staged spontaneous protests on their campuses or out on the streets. The underlying cause was Beijing’s draconian lockdown measures, which led... MORE

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping called for tighter Party and state control of the financial sector in the quinquennial Central Financial Work Conference that ended in Beijing on October 31 (Xinhua, October 31). All seven Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) members as well... MORE

Paramount leader Xi Jinping (习近平) has been widely blamed by foreign governments and media for failing to take effective measures to remedy an economy hurt by excessive leverage, weak exports, anemic consumer spending, and the massive withdrawal of investment by multinationals (Foreign Policy, September 6).... MORE

It appears that the influence of the radical patriots in Russia has declined as of late. Around the same time as the arrest of war criminal and regime critic Igor Girkin (Strelkov) (Interfax.ru, July 21), communications about the need for peace negotiations with Ukraine began... MORE

*Read Part One. On June 23 and 24, the notorious Wagner Group and its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin conducted an unsuccessful revolt against the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and its ultimatum that Wagner, and other entities like it, had to sign a contract (by July... MORE