Why Iran’s Syria Strategy Is Shifting
Iran’s deepening footprint in Syria represents what is arguably the most significant flashpoint in the Levant.
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China Reform Monitor No. 1444
China's bill of particulars against Australia;
China's COVID-19 food tests irritate trade partners;
Malicious tip-offs stifled academic freedom;
State Council probes rating agencies, banks and firms;
Taiwan to build submarines
China Reform Monitor No. 1443
China's 'corruption' dragnet widens worldwide;
Malaysia refuses to deport Uighurs, but Indonesia complies;
China to allow coast guard to use weapons in claimed waters;
Jaguar parts smuggled from Latin America to China;
Sino-Kyrgyz relations on the rocks
America’s Strategic Play in the Pacific
While pundits and policymakers in Washington lock horns over a new strategic direction to counter China, the Department of Defense (DoD) is quietly working to blunt the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) advance into the Pacific Ocean.
China Reform Monitor No. 1442
Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse;
PRC should publicize its "human rights stories": CPCC chair;
Pompeo: "Taiwan has not been a part of China";
Xi halts Ant's financial $37 billion IPO;
GUO calls for safeguarding regime "safety"
The case for applied history
Forget the seduction of grand theories and presentist moral judgments. To learn the lessons of the past, the great foreign policy analysts of our age must rediscover the art of historical discernment.
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 13
No end in sight for Thai protests;
Burmese elections disenfranchise minorities, despite high turnout;
Duterte waits for Biden;
China doubles down on Australia pressure campaign
Defense Technology Monitor No. 58
Robot dogs may be a soldier's best friend;
"Smart" bullet destroys cruise missile;
3-D printing neural implants;
Directed energy could advance hypersonic weapons;
Ghost fleet sub hunters?
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2428
Russia launches online campaign to promote Cornonavirus cure;
Sobyanin eyes a shutdown;
Islamic body bans intermarriage for Russia's Muslims;
More hacks on COIVD-19 vaccine researchers;
Litvinenko widow sues the Kremlin;
No official wrongdoing in journalist suicide
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 212
Iran's deepening economic woes;
A strengthening Iranian hand in Yemen...;
...and a changing foothold in Syria;
The human rights issue comes of age;
Regional jitters over potential U.S. U-turn
Biden Faces an Evolving Middle East
The news that Bahrain's foreign minister is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week highlights the predicament that president elect Joe Biden faces in the Middle East: he wants to restore a U.S. approach to the region that relies on increasingly out-of-date assumptions.
Africa Political Monitor No. 9
A budding Ethiopian refugee crisis;
Alleviating Morocco's water woes;
Russian ships in Sudanese waters;
China eyes the Congo's cobalt;
Seychelles election impedes Indian naval ambitions;
Niger: Next to normalize?
Global Islamism Monitor No. 83
France clamps down;
A massacre in Mozambique;
Societal shifts in the UAE;
Austrian authorities strike back;
Afghanistan: Continuity or change?
How Did Armenia So Badly Miscalculate Its War with Azerbaijan?
The long-term damage resulting from Armenia's miscalculations outlined are plain to see. While part of the damage is physical, even more significant is the mental damage: Armenia’s feeling of military superiority is now broken, and its feeling of isolation palpable.
Morocco And The Normalization Question
The Kingdom of Morocco ranks prominently on the list of prospective peace partners.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2426
Investigators find missteps in Nemtsov case;
A cold shoulder for Kyrgyzstan;
A COVID case spike? Blame Turkey;
A Russian connection to the Vienna terrorist attack;
Mass vaccinations won't be ready this year;
Nobody wants to be mayor of Magadan
Will Biden Pivot On Iran?
How will a Biden administration handle the Middle East?
More rot at America’s public diplomacy mouthpiece
Since his Senate confirmation this summer, new United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO Michael Pack has come under fire for calling out his own organization for an array of glaring security shortfalls.
China Reform Monitor No. 1441
German leaders calls for a Western united front against China;
German ex-spy chief: Europe must wake up to China's world domination;
China compels hundreds of thousands to take experimental vaccine;
Eight charged as part of China's "Operation Fox Hunt";
U.S. sells arms to Taiwan, so China sanctions defense firms
Africa Political Monitor No. 8
The restive Ugandan-South Sudanese border;
UK, China jockey for position in Benin;
Hostile waters for Chinese fishing;
Sudan's peace push;
Ethiopia's looming civil war threatens to undo East Africa
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2425
Bed, doctor shortages taking their toll;
Russians charged in Sweden over blogger killing;
Fancy Bear strikes again;
Controversial Russian resolution shot down at UN;
Moscow considering military assistance to Armenia;
U.S. Cyber Command hunts for Russian hackers
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2424
Russian airstrike: A precursor to new Syria violence;
The side effect of Sputnik V;
A new outpost in Africa;
A replacement for the INF?;
Finally, a Russian mask mandate;
Climate changes in the Russian Arctic
Mapping vital US interests beyond Earth orbit
[T]he Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed earlier this Fall between NASA and the U.S. Space Force represents a major forward step in comprehensive national spacepower.
The Fight for Iran: Opposition Politics, Protest, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Nation
Today, more than four decades after its founding, the Islamic Republic of Iran is arguably at the weakest point in its history.
The Planet and the Pandemic
Crisis and Opportunity in the Americas
Weathering the Pandemic in the Arab World
Sputnik-V’s Failure to Launch
Summer of COVID: How East Asia Has Coped
The Emerging Anti-China Consensus
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2423
Economic comeback reverses course;
Reframing the Navalny poisoning;
Russia stealing data from local governments in U.S.;
Brazilian company agrees to produce Sputnik V;
Azerbaijan frets over Russia's role
How to Hold China Accountable on Human Rights
As the U.S.-China relationship grows increasingly confrontational, few issues have captured Washington's attention more than the egregious ongoing violations of human rights in Xinjiang.
American money for American ideas: Think tanks should disclose foreign funding
China Reform Monitor No. 1440
Vatican extends appointment deal with China;
Italy ends BRI membership and Sweden says no to Huawei;
China threatens not to recognize British passports for Hong Kongers;
China preparing to amend national defense law;
Philippine Communist Party orders guerrillas to target Chinese firms
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2422
Erasing the history of Soviet repression;
Pandemic fatigue sets in among Russia's leaders;
EU sanctions GRU chief over 2015 German hack;
GRU hid Novichok production: Bellingcat;
Aeroflot visas cancelled after iPhone scheme revelations;
Treasury sanctions Russia over 2017 Saudi oil hack
Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space
With a focus on China, the United States, and India, this book examines the economic ambitions of the second space race.
Why America’s Refugee Reset Could Drive Away Valuable War Allies
The administration’s refugee policy will jeopardize America’s ability to secure the cooperation of local populations when, at some point in the future, the United States again must take military action.
Global Islamism Monitor No. 82
Taliban-Afghan government peace talks commence;
Tajikistan sentences Brotherhood members;
Sudan separates religion and state;
Hezbollah: Banned in Switzerland?;
ISWAP strikes in northeast Nigeria
America’s Iran Policy Heads Toward A Crossroads
With the U.S. election around the corner, the contours of a second term Trump Iran policy – or a first term Biden approach – are already coming into view.
China Reform Monitor No. 1439
China tests internet censorship 2.0;
China's global image hits new lows;
UK parliament: Huawei colludes with "Communist Party apparatus";
China calls on Taiwan's spies to switch sides;
China stymies G20 debt relief scheme
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2421
Moscow and Nur-Sultan renew defense commitments;
Putin takes aim at same-sex marriage;
Turkey tests Russian anti-missile system;
The GRU gears up to sabotage the Tokyo Olympics;
Military cuts on the table;
U.S. charges Russian intelligence officers
Halting the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Russian peacekeeping is not the solution
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2420
Khabarovsk protestors beaten and jailed;
Russia denies cyber attack on Norway's parliament;
Joint space missions coming to an end;
New START negotiations stall;
Moscow pulls out of MH17 talks;
Eyeing Russia, Sweden rearms
China Reform Monitor No. 1438
Party wants private firms to aid United Front work;
Berlin buries internal report on China's influence;
Chile eyes Chinese fishing fleet along South American coast;
China's diplomatic offensive in Southeast Asia;
U.S. agricultural exports to China spike
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 12
India tests new anti-submarine weapon, trains with U.S.;
Pakistan annexes part of Kashmir to protect Chinese investments;
Malaysia, Philippines spar over Sabah;
North Korea's new missile
Charting China’s plummeting popularity around the world
Can Washington parlay increasing negative views of China into a competitive strategy?
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2419
The Belarusian opposition feels the heat;
Kamchatka disaster leaves scientists perplexed;
Russian health system under strain as pandemic reality returns;
Russia eyes Kyrgyz protests;
Russia-brokered ceasefire already violated in N-K
Resource Security Watch No. 32
The Air Force eyes the Arctic;
Coronavirus and global food insecurity;
Gold mining in South Africa experiences a temporary revival;
African energy projects gain momentum
Defense Technology Monitor No. 57
The future of batteries: 3D printing...;
...and nuclear-powered gemstones;
How AI is gaming wargames;
Israel's answer to incendiary balloons;
AI: The future of fighter jets?
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2418
Kadyrov and the Navalny poisoning;
Suicide shines spotlight on press freedom in Russia;
A harder line in Berlin;
COVID-19 resurgence in Moscow;
New hypersonic weapon tested in Moscow
The UN’s Human Rights Council Grows More Odious
"Electing these dictatorships as UN judges on human rights," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based watchdog group, "is like making a gang of arsonists into the fire brigade."
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2417
Navalny assets seized by authorities;
Navalny poisoned himself, Putin tells Macron;
Yalta mayor fires deputy over Belarus support;
Russia, China conspire at UN over Libya;
Russian hackers to be sentenced in U.S.
China Reform Monitor No. 1437
Gambling, cryptocurrency ship $145 billion out of China annually;
Quad tackles China's disinformation;
Pompeo urges Vatican to condemn China's human rights abuses;
G7 ministers press Beijing on debt relief for poor nations;
China holds simultaneous naval drills
Can America Stop a Wider War Between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
The resumption of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan threatens a broader regional conflict that threatens Western interests. While America has paid growing attention to Central Asia, it has forgotten to do the same in the South Caucasus, the Western gateway to Central Asia.
Why San Francisco State University Embraced a Failed Hijacker
This unorthodox university event reflects the moral confusion on issues of global concern that afflicts all-too-many institutions of higher learning these days. For while the university justified the event on free speech grounds, it applied the notion of free speech with striking selectivity.