Expectations that the election of new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari would lead to effective military measures against northeast Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants have been dashed in recent weeks as the terrorist group carried out strikes on Chad and Niger, in addition to an intensified campaign... MORE

A seemingly organized sectarian violence against Pakistan’s beleaguered minority Shi’a community has plumbed new depths in recent months with a series of bombings of Shi’a worshipping places and targeted killings that have left over 170 people dead so far in 2015. Previously the anti-Shi’a armed... MORE

A central element in the ongoing crisis in Yemen is the perception among Sunni-led states that Iran is playing a central role in supporting the Houthi Shi’a rebel movement militarily and politically, and fear of growing Iranian influence in Yemen has been a key factor... MORE

Members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) have been quite active in the Pankisi Gorge, one of the most picturesque mountain gorges in Georgia, since the very start of the conflicts involving the IS in Syria and Iraq. Pankisi, situated in the northeastern part of... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently committed much time and effort to, on the one hand, intimidate and, on the other, to coax the Western public, businessmen and potential investors into accepting Russia as a benign power that is simply defending its national interests. Putin... MORE

Official statements, interviews and comments from some members of the Russian government and military top brass on the Ukraine crisis denote the use of the “carrot and stick” in the Kremlin’s policy. Moscow claims, for example, that the Minsk II agreement represents the best way... MORE

Three weeks ago, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appointed Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, as governor of Ukraine’s Odesa province, with a dual mission: to jump-start reforms based on his experience in reforming Georgia, and to consolidate Ukrainian control in a territory potentially targeted by Russia.... MORE

The annual St. Petersburg economic forum used to be a major gathering of investors and stakeholders, who would anticipate President Vladimir Putin’s keynote speech every year for hints about where to find the richest dividends in the Russian economy. This year, however, the traditional pomp... MORE

As Editors, we have the distinct pleasure of introducing a special issue of China Brief, focused on the Chinese government’s 2015 Defense White Paper (DWP) and its theme of military strategy. This year’s report, the latest roughly biannual installment since 1995, contains the broad guidelines... MORE

Reflecting critical developments under the Xi administration, the recent “Military Strategy” white paper signals a turn toward a potentially more coercive phase of China’s rise (State Council, May 26). Driven by the determination to overcome a formidable array of domestic and international obstacles to national... MORE