Conflicts continue to mount among the various “Kremlin towers,” and lately a curious trend has become discernible: Those methods previously used by the Russian authorities against dissidents have begun to turn against their creators. Thus, in mid-July 2023, former Federal Security Service (FSB) colonel and... MORE

From the beginning of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expanded invasion of Ukraine, Moscow, the West and Ukraine have viewed the conflict primarily as a land war rather than a naval contest. But as Ukrainian, Western and Russian analysts are increasingly pointing out, from the beginning,... 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

The decision to withdraw from the international arrangement guaranteeing the safety of grain exports from Ukrainian ports, announced in Moscow on July 17, signifies a significant effort to escalate non-kinetic hostilities to break the pattern of slow-moving defeat in this war of attrition. Russian President... MORE

Benin’s location in coastal West Africa and role as an intermediary stop for travelers transiting from Mali into Nigeria make it an important geopolitical bulwark for halting the expansion of terrorist groups between Nigeria and the Sahel. It would appear that Benin is now taking... MORE

Islamic State’s most prominent “province” in Africa is Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), which is based in Nigeria. However, the provinces in Mozambique and the Congo are being revived after more than a year of relative quietude, especially compared to the dearth of... MORE

Following the prolonged detention of Islamic State (IS)-linked European citizens in al-Hol and similar camps in northeastern Syria from 2019 onwards, many countries have become more amenable to repatriation. This comes as pressure to resolve these citizens’—and particularly their childrens’—fates has increased. The Nordic countries... MORE

On April 17, US Special Forces under Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted an operation in Syria in which they killed Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali. He was a prominent Islamic State (IS) leader, head of general security, and deputy governor of the group’s “Syria Province” (Akhbar al-Aan,... MORE

On January 25, the US Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania issued a public warning regarding the possibility of a local terrorist attack. It mentioned in particular “large gatherings” as possible targets (tz.usembassy.gov, January 25). The Tanzanian authorities nevertheless reacted with reassurances and denials, with the police... MORE

Introduction In July, the Barbie movie––an ostensibly apolitical and innocuous film––­­was banned by the Vietnamese Department of Cinema over real-world tensions between Vietnam and China. According to the state film council, the new Barbie movie was barred from the Vietnamese market over its inclusion of... MORE