The Beirut Explosion Highlights Hezbollah’s Malevolence
That Hezbollah wields so much power in Beirut is partly a function of Lebanon’s governing structure and partly of its own designs.
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Publications
China Reform Monitor No. 1428
Hong Kong elections postponed for a year;
Russia withholding missile deliveries to China while expediting sales to India;
India bans 47 more Chinese mobile apps;
China calls first ever "quadrilateral" meeting with Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan;
Hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels discovered near Galapagos Islands
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2405
Siberia's smoke comes east;
Baikal backfire in Siberia;
Lukashenko says Russia lying about mercenaries;
Russian businessman's ship linked to Beirut explosion
China Reform Monitor No. 1427
Pakistan signs a flurry of BRI deals;
State Department: U.S. citizens in China face "arbitrary" arrest;
India stops China's firms from bidding on government tenders;
Xi consolidates control over law enforcement before 2022 Congress;
China closes U.S. consulate in Chengdu
Why giving the Space Force naval ranks might widen the schism with the Air Force
As support builds to mandate the newest branch adopt a maritime culture, so do the arguments against it.
Alexander Lukashenko Gets Ready to Rumble With Russia
The recent capture of thirty-two of Moscow’s mercenaries gives the Belarusian leader at least some leverage in future talks with his Russian counterpart.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2404
Russian religious news channel removed from YouTube;
Wagner mercenaries arrested in Belarus;
Russian COVID-19 shot to be ready in August;
Another American sentenced
China Reform Monitor No. 1426
China faces massive floods...;
...raising questions about the Three Gorges Dam;
U.S. announces Taiwan arms deal...so China sanctions Lockeed;
U.S. sanctions top PRC official over Muslim abuses;
...so China sanctions U.S. lawmakers
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 10
China bets on Iran for Belt and Road success in Middle East;
Five Eyes considers economic pact, expanding membership;
Malaysia echoes U.S. policy, rejects China's territorial claims;
Pakistan-China partnership faces insurgent opposition
Africa Political Monitor No. 5
Chinese construction in South Sudan hits roadblock;
Germany, Morocco find common ground on green energy;
Iran illegally fishes of Somali coast;
French oil multinational secures gas project in Mozambique;
Egyptian hackers target Ethiopian government over GERD;
Sudan's government secures foreign aid
Russia Reform Monitor No. 240
Donbass ceasefire takes effect;
A new front for weapons testing;
Belorusian opposition candidate flees to Russia;
Russian Navy to get hypersonic nuclear strike weapons;
Berlin denies Moscow a place in the G7
What Iran Gets from the Strategic Deal with China
The new strategic pact between Iran and China is a lifeline for the regime in Tehran... and a serious threat to America's efforts to contain Iran's global menace.
Resource Security Watch No. 29
Siberian disaster a wake up call for the Kremlin;
Crude rises, Shale stagnates;
Yemen's deepening humanitarian crisis;
Pakistani farmers become bug collectors
America’s Space Strategy Comes of Age
The past few days have been momentous ones for America's approach to space.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2402
A replacement for Khabarovsk's imprisoned Governor;
Russia rejects NASA's overtures;
State sanctions Kadyrov;
Miscarriage of justice in Gulag historian case
Global Islamism Monitor No. 80
Flashpoint: Mozambique;
ISIS versus al-Qaeda in West Africa;
Hezbollah's inside game
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2401
Muscovites take to the streets, again;
Russian spies target coronavirus vaccine research;
Police officer falls to death after testifying;
Russia, Ukraine to launch military exercises;
Moscow ready to play peacemaker between Baku and Yerevan
Iran’s Coronavirus Crisis Continues
Iranian authorities have taken pains to downplay the extent of the domestic disruption that has been caused by the disease, and moved early to reopen the national economy.
China Reform Monitor No. 1425
India bans Chinese apps;
China works to suppress Uighur population growth;
Taiwan and Somaliland exchange offices;
China expands its claims in Bhutan
China's Zijin mining to buy Guyana goldfields
China Erases History, Again
Seven years ago, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) warned its members to "forcefully resist influential and harmful false tides of thought."
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 209
The practical effects of "maximum pressure";
A new campaign of sabotage;
Iran's protest wave reemerges;
Iran's coronavirus crisis, continued
China Reform Monitor No. 1424
China passes Hong Kong national security law;
Hundreds arrested on first day of new security law...;
...and Hong Kong denies bail to first defendant;
British PM offers 3 million Hong Kongers a path to citizenship;
U.S. Army releases film on joint military exercises with Taiwan
How Central Asia Has Handled Islamic Extremism
Radical Islamic extremism established a presence in Central Asia in the late Soviet era.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2400
The consequences of climate change;
Russia fuel spill devastates Arctic environment;
India's infatuation with Russian arms;
A lopsided intel sharing agreement
U.S. Needs a Broad Response to China-Iran Moves
A new China-Iran economic and military agreement and this fall's expiration of the global arms embargo on Iran could dramatically upend international relations by expanding China's global reach, empowering Iran to threaten America's regional allies, undercutting U.S. efforts to pressure both nations and further destabilizing the Middle East.
How the Iranian Revolution Inspired Turkish Islamism
The Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979 had important implications throughout the Islamic world, and Turkey has been no exception.
China Outmaneuvers the Muslim World
With its embrace of the Amman Message, China has succeeded in finishing what its economic investments began.
China Reform Monitor No. 1423
China and India clash amid simmering border tensions;
Scores of soldiers fell to their deaths as hundreds fought;
PLA warplanes enter Taiwan Strait;
U.S. to sanction Chinese officials connected to Xinjiang camps;
China's Zijin Mining to buy Guyana Goldfields for $238MM
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2399
Russia to retaliate for British sanctions;
Russia rebukes U.S. over media freedom;
Governor arrested for old murders;
Moscow digs in in Moldova
We Are in a New Space Race, and America Needs to Win
America now needs a concrete plan to cement its position as the planet's dominant space power.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2398
Vladivostok tweet causes complications with Beijing;
New developments in the MH17 tragedy;
How Putin got his constitutional amendments;
Space advisor faces treason charges
China Reform Monitor No. 1422
Leading Russian Arctic scholar accused of spying for China;
Jakarta rejects Beijing's offer for South China Sea talks;
Zoom admits ending meetings at Beijing's behest;
Twitter suspends 170,000 China-linked false news accounts;
Myanmar's audit chief cautions his government against China's BRI
Understanding Russia and China in Central Asia
Moscow and Beijing face both challenges and opportunities in the “Post-Soviet Space.”
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2397
More Russian probes of American airspace;
Rights Council gives referendum vote a clean bill of health;
Russian cash for Taliban kills;
Moscow denies nuclear incident;
Coronavirus and the Victory Parade
Confronting China’s Atrocities in Xinjiang
Since it began nearly four years ago, the PRC's campaign to pacify its majority-Muslim province of Xinjiang has taken on truly horrifying proportions.
Putin Plots a Parallel Internet
Amid a surge in domestic discontent with his regime, the Russian president is moving to tighten his grip on the country's Web access.
America’s Military Has a Problem: Russia and China Are Building Hypersonic Weapons
Could a new generation of missile defenses help?
Defense Technology Monitor No. 54
New 3D printing technique changes the game;
Plasma serves as new missile decoy;
Power-beaming test on board space plane;
USAF launches AI to control drones;
Navy demonstrates new laser at sea
Trashing Leaders at Home Weakens America Abroad
[A] society that bemoans its faults but ignores its considerable virtues—its values, liberties, sacrifices and accomplishments—will lack the confidence in itself and the standing with others necessary to lead the world.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2396
Nuclear negotiators meet in Austria;
Frontline doctors ordered to vote;
Whelan won't appeal, awaits exchange;
Putin raises taxes, boosts aid on eve of referendum;
Military tech on parade on Moscow;
Russian hackers target Americans working from home
Global Islamism Monitor No. 79
The Taliban takes the offensive;
The Islamic State shows new signs of life;
Is America reducing its footprint in the Sinai?;
Turkey to Europe: Take back your radicals
Resource Security Watch No. 28
Corona and the climate;
Africa faces a locust plague;
The coronavirus fight takes its toll;
Moscow, Beijing move closer on energy
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 9
SPECIAL ISSUE: SINO-INDIAN BORDER TENSIONS
India re-enforces its Himalayan perch as China moves into Galwan;
China challenges the status quo in Pangong Lake;
Regional neighbors seize the moment;
Border dispute spills over into 5G networks, auto production
China Reform Monitor No. 1421
Chinese hackers targeted emails of Biden campaign staffers;
PLA expands high-altitude arsenal;
PLA troops movements amid border tensions;
Russian coronavirus website lists "country of Taiwan";
China opens new rail corridor to Nepal
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2395
Nearly 500 medical workers die of COVID-19;
Russia steps back in China-India border dispute;
EU plans to extend Russia sanctions;
Ekho Moskvy fined for "face news";
Putin mulls another term
The Fruits of ‘Maximum Pressure’: An Increasingly Isolated Iran | Opinion
You wouldn't know it from the popular press, but the Trump administration's campaign of "maximum pressure" against Iran is working.
The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 208
The long arm of Iranian law;
Hard times for Iranian propaganda;
A challenge to Iranian control over Iraq;
How Huawei skirted Iran sanctions
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2394
Putin follows through on passport promise;
Donbass coal laundered in Russia;
Vedomosti editors quit in protest;
New constitution hits shelves before vote;
Leading Arctic researcher charged with treason
Israel’s Government Is Gambling On Annexation
Since April of 2019, when the idea was first floated publicly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu's plan to annex portions of the West Bank and Jordan River Valley has become widely unpopular.