Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
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‘Politkovskaya’s Warning’ and Russian War Crimes in Syria
Last Friday (October 7) marked ten years since the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya. And while her killer and several accomplices were convicted, the mastermind of this crime is still at large (Novaya Gazeta, October 7). Two days prior... MORE
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Why Are Georgia and Abkhazia Still Far From Reconciliation?
On September 27, Georgian authorities and activists commemorated the 23rd anniversary of the “Fall of Sukhumi.” On that date in 1993, an armed group of Abkhaz and North Caucasian fighters, clandestinely supported in various ways by Russian forces stationed in Abkhazia, managed to establish control... MORE
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Budgetary Fight in Moscow Sends US-Russian Relations Into Deep Crisis
US Secretary of State John Kerry’s attempts to hammer out a Syrian ceasefire agreement with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, have collapsed, leaving relations between Washington and Moscow in tatters. The Russian-led coalition, which includes military forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government as... MORE
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China’s Private Security Companies: Domestic and International Roles
Aubervilliers is a bustling suburb of Paris known for its small and medium-sized enterprises. Among its predominantly Arab and African population are 4,000 Chinese, more than a quarter (1,200) of whom are traders prominent in Aubervilliers’s textile industry (Daily Mail, May 10, 2015). In recent... MORE
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Taiwan’s Defense Policy Under Tsai
At the end of August, Taiwan held its annual Han Kuang (汉光) military exercises (CNA, August 25). In a departure from previous exercises, this year emphasized responding to infiltrated PLA units or “fifth columnists” mainland forces already hidden on Taiwan (Wenweipo [Hong Kong], August 23).... MORE
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Beijing Talks Tough About “New Cold War” in Asia
Beijing has declared a New Cold War against “hostile anti-China forces in the West,” a code word for the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies (Military.China.com, August 26; Chinaiiss.com, August 25). This contrasts directly with the auspicious language used by President Xi Jinping when he... MORE
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Chinese Perceptions of the “Third Offset Strategy”
China is deeply committed to a series of military reforms involving reorganization, more realistic training, and advanced weapons—all interconnected by information technology and with the various services and branches working jointly. It set itself two milestones—2020 and 2049. The first of these is to complete... MORE
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India Alarmed by Implications of First Pakistani-Russian Joint Military Exercise
On September 24, Russia and Pakistan began their first-ever joint military exercises, “Friendship 2016.” Roughly 70 personnel from a mechanized infantry brigade based in Russia’s Southern Military District are participating in the 16-day exercise along with 130 Pakistani troops. The two countries’ Armed Forces are... MORE
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Flight MH17 Tragedy—Another Front in Moscow’s Battle Against West
This week (September 28), a Dutch-led group of investigators from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine published the preliminary results of their more-than-two-year investigation into the crash of flight MH17. The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down, on July 17, 2014, over territory... MORE
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Belarus and Russia Experience New Bout of Tensions
In recent years, there has been no shortage of bad blood between Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the Russian Kremlin. For example, in February 2004, Lukashenka referred to the stoppage of Russian natural gas flows into Belarus, in retaliation for Belarus’s insistence on lower prices,... MORE