Latest Articles about Military/Security

Water Shortages Likely to Reduce Central Asian GDPs by 11 Percent

Although Central Asia as a whole has enough water to promote development, problems in sharing this critical resource among the region’s five post-Soviet republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan—are becoming downright severe. According to a new World Bank study, such localized water crises could reduce... MORE

Russia’s Tactical Missile Systems in Syria

Russia’s announced partial military drawdown of its force deployment in Syria has effectively given way to conceding that its military footprint in the country will endure for some time. With the withdrawal of some Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS) assets and insertion of limited replacements,... MORE

Insurgents in Chechnya Down, but Not Out

Over the past several years, there have not been many reports from Chechnya regarding insurgent activities in the republic. But while the Chechen government claims the republic has overcome the Islamist armed underground, insurgency-related incidents still sometimes occur, which means that militants still exist in... MORE

The Human and Organizational Dimensions of the PLA’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems

PLA theorists see unmanned operations (无人作战) as integral elements of future warfare. For instance, in a January 2016 article, Xiao Tianliang, editor of the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University’ 2015 edition of The Science of Military Strategy, alluded to “unmanned systems autonomous operations” (无人系统独立作战)... MORE

Karabakh: A New Theater for Drone Warfare?

Serious renewed violence broke out between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan last month (April 2–5, 2016), with fighting in the separatist Azerbaijani region of Karabakh reaching levels not seen since the ceasefire of 1994. One the distinctive features of the recent escalation, which... MORE