The outcome of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11 and 12 left the Russian leadership confused and anxious. The controversial issue on Ukraine’s membership in the alliance was left pending, as had been planned. Thus, some official mouthpieces in Moscow and many “patriotic-military”... MORE

Executive Summary Being the central pillar of Beijing`s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) strategy in South Asia, economic and investment activities in Pakistan pose a series of security risks and challenges for the People’s Republic of China. For now, in pursuit of physical security of... MORE

How to respond to Russia’s onslaught against Ukraine was the central question confronting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) summit of heads of state in Vilnius on July 11 and 12. With the war well into its second year, the alliance again fell short of... MORE

Several demonstrative developments reveal that the political positions of the Russian Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) leadership remain intact for now, despite these officials’ poor performance in responding to the Wagner Group mutiny. In recent days, the MoD has announced that it received all the arms... MORE

Russia, more than any other advanced country, has long depended on its rivers and canals to move people and cargo within the country and abroad. But a combination of climate change, the increased use of water by people living along these waterways and siltation have... MORE

On July 4, Iran officially became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during a virtual summit hosted by India for the SCO Heads of State Council (Shargh Daily, July 4). Iran initially joined as an “observer member without voting rights” at the... MORE

At first glance, it may appear that the Kremlin has managed to alleviate the consequences of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s revolt. Sociological surveys conducted by the Russian Field company reveal that support for the founder of the Wagner Group has plummeted by over half within Russian society,... MORE

On July 6, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka held a three and a half hour–long press conference with domestic and international journalists hailing from Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar (President.gov.by, July 6). Apparently, the most anticipated themes were the... MORE

On June 7, Philippine security forces on Basilan Island (off of Mindanao) claimed to have “rescued” an Indonesian boy who was being trained to carry out bombings (philstar.com, June 7). The boy was in a hideout of two Islamic State (IS)-loyal sub-commanders, Mudzrimar Sawadjaan (alias... MORE

Amid constant battles with the al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) in Mali, Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) appears to be moving deeper into Burkina Faso. JNIM originally had deeper roots in Burkina Faso through a sub-group, Ansar al-Islam (AAI). However,... MORE