To read Part One, please click here. At this point, Moscow seems content to watch Western diplomats urging Kyiv to legitimize the Donetsk-Luhansk authorities through local elections, and (as a consequence of this) enshrining an official status for that territory in Ukraine’s constitution (see EDM,... MORE

As China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative gains momentum, most interpretations of Beijing’s initial OBOR-related activities have centered on the implications of OBOR for China and her immediate neighborhood. Europe, however, has a special place within the strategy. Europe features as the end point... MORE

On April 20, Sino-Pakistan relations took a great leap forward as Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled plans for investment of $46 billion in the Pakistani leg of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (Xinhua, April 22). CPEC is an important component of China’s ambitious ‘One Belt,... MORE

Recent news about Belarus has recently concentrated on three somewhat connected issues: the upcoming presidential elections, economic decline, and the activities of Moscow and the collective West vis-à-vis Minsk. On July 20, Lidia Ermoshina, chairperson of Belarus’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC), participated in a Vienna-based... MORE

Moscow vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution that would have set up an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute those involved in the downing passenger airliner of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The Boeing 777 jet was shot down on July 17, 2014,... MORE

New reports are surfacing about another influx of North Caucasian fighters arriving in eastern Ukraine, which began in 2014. In particular, Chechens fighting on the side of the pro-Russia separatists have received substantial media attention. In 2015, however, the Moscow-backed separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine... MORE

On July 6, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his eight-day tour of Central Asia, visiting the region for the first time since taking office last May. The first country he arrived in was Uzbekistan. “I started my trip from here to underline the... MORE

In May 2014, Nagieb Khaja, a Dutch filmmaker and journalist reporting on the ground in Syria for al-Jazeera, began to negotiate with Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) members about conducting an on-camera interview with a JN official. After months of negotiations, JN gave him permission to interview... MORE

Much has been written already about the stunning number of Belgian fighters in Syria and Iraq. With estimates ranging from 380 to nearly 500 individuals, Belgium has the highest per capita figure of all Western countries. The average Belgian fighter is a 25-year-old man of... MORE

Mohamed Kuno, a former madrassa teacher in Garissa, Kenya’s main northeastern city, is the latest hardline militant leader to emerge from al-Shabaab. Until recently, Kuno was a typical Islamic preacher in Garissa mosques, where Muslims came to listen to his sermons. This religious figure has... MORE