Latest Articles about politics

Five Key Factors Behind Irregular Leadership Changes in the People’s Liberation Army
Executive Summary: The year 2024 witnessed sudden removals of high-level People’s Liberation Army (PLA) commanders, a continuation of the purge of 15 defense industry leaders and military commanders in 2023. Xi Jinping’s possible motivations include combating corruption, managing factional conflicts, asserting dominance as an aging... MORE

Kadyrov’s Efforts to Create Chechen Muftiate in Ingushetia Threaten to Destabilize Region
Executive Summary: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has made another move to subordinate Ingushetia (a neighboring republic within the Russian Federation) by organizing talks intended to create a Chechen-controlled muftiate in Ingushetia. Kadyrov’s efforts to gain leverage over Ingushetia may be initially successful because of the... MORE

Moscow Increases Pressure on Separatist Abkhazia Ahead of Presidential Elections
Executive Summary: Abkhazia, a break-away territory controlled by Russia, is preparing for decisive presidential elections on February 15, which could determine the future trajectory of the separatist region’s foreign policy and relationship to Moscow. Russia is supporting pro-Moscow candidate, former vice-president Badra Gunba, in the... MORE

Lukashenka Touts More Anti-Poland Rhetoric Following Presidential Election
Executive Summary: During his re-election as Belarus’s President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka warned Poland that any attempt to annex western Ukraine would precipitate a conflict with Belarus and Russia. Lukashenka’s warnings are part of a broader obsession with Poland’s regional and European influence and support for the... MORE

Beijing Woos Washington While Advancing New International Order
Executive Summary: The PRC is tempering its criticisms of the United States and other powerful countries in the early part of the Trump administration in a seeming attempt to foster a stable external environment while it continues to enhance its national power. Official PRC media... MORE

Belarus’s ‘Calmest Elections’ Hold Potential to Pave the Way for Rapprochement
Executive Summary: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka was named the winner of Belarus’s seventh presidential election for his seventh consecutive term. This election starkly contrasted with the last election, as it was relatively calm without mass protests. The Western response to the election was overwhelmingly negative,... MORE

Conversations on Ending the War in Ukraine Grow Louder and Emptier
Executive Summary: The beginning of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration highlights contrasting views of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The West views it as a non-sensical distortion that should be stopped, and Russian President Vladimir Putin views it as a confrontation with the West. The state... MORE

Informal Georgian Leader Bidzina Ivanishvili Faces U.S. Sanctions
Executive Summary: At the end of 2024, the United States imposed financial sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire and the informal leader of Georgia, for undermining democratic processes and enabling Russian influence. The sanctions included freezing select assets and restricting transactions. Opposition leaders welcomed the... MORE

Moscow and Minsk Attack Catholicism to Defend Lukashenka and Russian World
Executive Summary: In advance of his sham re-election, Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has launched an expanded campaign against Roman Catholics, the 14 percent of his nation who have been the most opposed to the Minsk strongman in the past. Moscow has joined this effort to... MORE

Belarus Faces Another Sham Election as Lukashenka Clings to Power
Executive Summary: Belarus’s presidential election on January 26 will likely hold no democratic legitimacy, with predetermined results ensuring Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s continued rule. Public disillusionment persists amid regime-led propaganda and repression, highlighting the ongoing struggle for democratic reform in Belarus. Growing economic and political integration is... MORE