Executive Summary: Online messaging campaigns from the Ministry of State Security (MSS) seek to educate citizens about national security threats and to instill a suspicion of foreigners, especially those from West countries. Numerous examples in WeChat posts from 2025 detail ways in which foreign spies... MORE

Executive Summary: The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has launched a new “clean and bright” campaign that redefines online frustration over youth unemployment, gender conflict, and social anxiety as “negative energy” that threatens People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) national security. Expressions that contradict the Party’s... MORE

Executive Summary: A new documentary on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Gongjian, presents an array of military hardware while showcasing operational competence. Highlighting the latest Fujian-class aircraft carrier and recent nuclear missiles tests while underscoring Party loyalty and spirit of sacrifice, the documentary signals to... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing is operationalizing its cross-Strait unification strategy through bureaucratic embedding and military-civil fusion, with Fujian Province as the central staging ground. The 17th Straits Forum in June served as a propaganda instrument to showcase apparent Taiwanese grassroots support, while parallel PLA developments contradict... MORE

Executive Summary: Elite privilege and lack of transparent checks and balances mean that corruption scandals are a feature of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) system of governance. As Beijing seeks to manage rising public discontent and technocratic continuity, it faces a delicate balancing act between... MORE

Executive Summary: The united front operates abroad as a political machine, helping to get people elected by fielding candidates, mobilizing votes, and building power bases. Asian-Americans are growing in numbers yet remain key swing voters. Beijing’s role in shaping the political leanings of this demographic... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is increasingly using the Cossack identity to justify its war in Ukraine, portraying them as liberators of Russian land. The Cossack’s use of Orthodox symbolism and historical narratives reinforce their role in neo-imperial mythmaking. The All-Russian Cossack Society highlights Cossack military... MORE

Executive Summary: Taiwan is acting against media organizations operating in the country that are affiliated with the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) party-state. In early January, Taiwan’s government revoked the operating license of the magazine Strait Herald following revelations about its influence and infiltration activities.... MORE

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

Executive Summary: Many so-called “Global South” countries feel it is time to do away with what they regard as the double standards of rich countries and are open to alternatives. However, Beijing’s offer comes with a catch: it involves exporting the controlling logic of its... MORE